"Before classes start one morning, the body of English instructor Earl Wellington is found outside the building of the community college campus in Clearview. Wellington was clearly involved in a struggle with someone and has died as a result. Sheriff Dan Rhodes pursues and arrests a student, Ike Terrell, who was fleeing the campus. Ike's father is Able Terrell, a survivalist who has withdrawn from society and lives in a gated compound. He's not happy that his son has chosen to attend the college, and he's even less happy with the arrest. Rhodes discovers that Wellington had a confrontation with Ike over a paper that Wellington insisted was plagiarized. Wellington also had a confrontation with the dean. As the number of suspects increases, it's up to Rhodes to puzzle through the murder"--