#1NEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPRThe year is 2008 and Samantha Kofer’s career at a huge Wall Street lawfirm is on the fast track—until the recession hits and she is downsized,furloughed, and escorted out of the building. Samantha, though, isoffered an opportunity to work at a legal aid clinic for one yearwithout pay, all for a slim chance of getting rehired.In amatter of days Samantha moves from Manhattan to Brady, Virginia,population 2,200, in the heart of Appalachia, a part of the world shehas only read about. Samantha’s new job takes her into the murky anddangerous world of coal mining, where laws are often broken, communitiesare divided, and the land itself is under attack. But some of thelocals aren’t so thrilled to have a big-city lawyer in town, and withinweeks Samantha is engulfed in litigation that turns deadly. Because likemost small towns, Brady harbors big secrets that some will kill to