Natalie Lynn Wright is a young Cherokee woman who is running from her past. Which makes it ironic that she chose to be an Archivist - someone charged with preserving history. She graduated from her small town's high school and fled for college the first chance she had. Two college degrees later, she lands her dream job at the National Archives.
Unfortunately she's fired from that job within two years after she's seen protesting the Trump administration on her lunch break. She has to take the first job she can find and, much to her dismay, it's in her hometown.
Returning home she finds her town in transition. The town of Locust Grove has its first female City Manager. She's desperate to win re-election and prove her victory wasn't a fluke - a one-in-a-million win over her only opponent: S. Darlington Redeagle. Redeagle is a full-blood Cherokee from a long-line of tribal leaders and local heroes. He owns the Indian gaming casino, along with most of the land and buildings in town. He still can't quite fathom how he lost and is now focused on gaining back the one thing in his life that escaped his desire.
Complicating things further is a mystery character named D. Briggs, who seems to be poking around Natalie's past. There's also a mythological Trickster who has chosen this particular place and time to appear and cause chaos. Natalie amuses him and he takes great pleasure in bringing trouble into her life - and a bit of humor.
There's also a steady stream of unique townspeople, local crazies, and just plain weirdos that Natalie remembers from high school. All of them seem intent on keeping her from having anything approaching the life she had desperately wanted.