A USA Book News Best Books Award finalist in literary fiction.Haunted by his mother's sudden death when he was young, Ben Gates spends his life trying to be a hero, but can never seem to get it right. When wildfires rage through the Everglades, destroying natural habitat and creeping closer to town, folks around Cypress City suspect somebody's lighting them. Ben, now an idealistic park ranger, believes he's the man to find the arsonist. Trouble is, folks also suspect he might be the culprit.Rumor gives way to conspiracy theory gives way to local legend as Ben races to save the town, and himself, while confronting his own secret past with the mysterious Mangrove Underground.
