When Johnny Richardson comes home to the town of Oakridge he has one thing on his mind--putting right a terrible mistake he made eight years ago. Revisiting the past, though, is a dark and dangerous game in small town America. When a careless sexual episode leads to the suicide of the town's first lady, Johnny finds himself the target of a revenge campaign that threatens to tear apart the fragile world he's built with his brain-damaged brother and depressive girlfriend among the gold-bearing mountains of Northern California.
Left an unexplained piece of land when his father mysteriously disappears, Johnny must unravel its secrets in a desperate bid to protect those he loves. His efforts to do this, though, have deadly consequences and will ultimately force him to confront not only his own failings, but the very nature of guilt itself.
A searing meditation on the futility of trying to right the wrongs of the past, Empty Mile blends elements of thrilling urban noir with the wide open spaces of outdoor adventure in a story that reflects America's contemporary uncertainty about itself.