As spring bursts forth, so does a whole lot more, including murder by arrow, in quiet Benteen County, Kansas. Nothing ever happens here. Then, on a perfect spring morning, a member of the TV crew filming in the area dies with a Cheyenne arrow in his back. A prime suspect is Sheriff English's brother, Mad Dog, the county oddball whose American Indian heritage has produced a born-again Cheyenne. While murder is a bad way to start the day, bombs don't improve it. Notes left for authorities hint at a terrorist assault on the heartland. As if the sheriff, known as Englishman, doesn't have enough to worry about, his wife has begun acting strangely. She insists he fly off for a Paris holiday with her before sunset—or else.

As Mad Dog swings between suspect and target, he encounters not only his long-lost high school sweetheart but also a secret that just may explain the unlikely mix of arrows and bombs. It's Murphy's Law squared, as Mad Dog and his pet wolf, Hailey, test a shaman's powers and Englishman struggles to balance his duties to family and community. It's enough to drive anyone crazy.