Two-Bit Taj Mahal

In New Liberty, Missouri, a contemporary American Midwestern farming town—total population a little less than five hundred—the townspeople have been having a series of agitated meetings on what to do about Clay Bayliss, the region's dangerous loner-bully. The charges are that Clay's been stealing livestock, burning barns, picking fights, making menacing phone calls, molesting women, and, recently, has taken at least one full-on shot at a citizen, all the while repeatedly and skillfully evading the law. There are crimes, but never any witnesses. As the townspeople inexorably move toward a decision, Sally Faye Redmond, a charismatic young drifter, shows up from nowhere and captures Clay in an intense love affair. Unwilling to be just another woman in his life, Sally demands Clay give her a gift no man has ever given any woman before. Just as Clay transforms under her influence and is about to give Sally a truly magnificent gift—a northwest Missouri Taj Mahal—the townspeople, under extreme duress, make their decision. This is a story of lives that are fierce, urgent, sexy, turbulent, and yet touched by humor and grace.