By Thanksgiving life in River Bend has turned as bitter as the weather. A detective has been shot, three children are found abandoned and one local politician is killed in a deadly car bombing. The usual family holiday cheer is dampened as Dusty works to protect three small children from child traffickers while hunting a bomber. Detective Teniquia LaMont struggles with the aftermath of a bullet wound that has taken away her ability to have children. Lynn witnesses the death of a local county commissioner in a car bombing and has difficulty with flashbacks and nightmares. Through it all Lynn and her friends try to rebuild a family and a home for several children - Polly Carmichael, a teenager made an orphan when her mother is murdered in the car bombing, and three toddler victims of child traffickers.

Renee Kumor has lived in North Carolina for over thirty years. The setting for the River Bend Chronicles series reflects her early life in Ohio and her later years in western North Carolina. She was a stay-at-home mom for several years developing a personal ethic of community service. Through the years as her children aged, she became active in the political and non-profit life of the community. She began writing a political opinion column for the local newspaper, but retired from writing when she announced her candidacy for local political office. After eight years as a county commissioner, she returned to non-profit service and began writing a monthly column for the newspaper on non-profit management and service issues. Renee has been married to her husband for forty-four years. They have four children and four grandchildren.