Rock (Cowboy) Bradford decided that River Town was the ideal location to operate his growing mortgage loan brokerage and to continue writing and publishing country songs. During his first two years in River Town Cowboy managed his business from his office on Main Street. He lived in a rented furnished apartment on Highway Street. He was an outsider but the locals tolerated him. After he moved his residency from the apartment in River Town to his expensive new houseboat on the river some boating people accepted him, for a while. Then Candace (Candy) Powers entered Cowboy's life. His business boomed and his social life blossomed, but the rejection by local residents and intimidation by law officials had just begun. After numerous strange incidents Cowboy, Candy, and four close friends formed an alliance they called the PhD Club. In addition to enjoying a great social relationship, the six members of the club realized they were facing a much more serious undertaking. The group set out to identify the underlying cause of the nasty attitudes, the innuendos, the threats, and the radical behavior of many lifelong River Town residents, and to expose the evil undertow that was taking place. Their effort became a life-threatening roller-coaster ride. While Cowboy and his friends were searching for answers people were being murdered. The local Independence Day celebration became the most tragic event in the history of the community. The shocking news that surfaced the following Sunday answered most of the PhD Club member's questions, but the fallout would haunt River Town for a long time