Jessie Lockwood, cancer researcher, is called home to eastern Kentucky when her mother goes missing. Her former lover, Drew is now Sheriff and he needs her help finding the ginseng patches her mother might have been counting in the forest, in hopes they will lead to finding her. As they work together in the search and the subsequent investigation they uncover a group of suspects that would like to keep Mariah Lockwood's count unpublished. The book had a lot on the uses, scarcity and value of wild ginseng. It also gave an interesting perspective on the lives of those living in small Appalachian areas. My problem with the book was the way the villain takes the time at the climax to narrate his reasons for murder and his relationships with the victims, while in the process of attempting to murder Jessie. It fell apart for me at the end. ( )