A contemporary novel set in Misp, a little logging town on the rugged Olympic Peninsula in the Pacific Northwest, The Civil Wars of Jonah Moran tells the story of Jessica Moran, a woman whose deep sense of family loyalty collides with her equally strong sense of justice.

The Morans have their problems like anybody else: Jessica hasn't yet come to terms with her autocratic mother and she's still haunted by painful issues from her past. Her brother Jonah has always been something of a misfit, but when he's accused of arson, Jessica just can't believe it's true.

Still, someone set fire to the halfway house, killing three of the four ex-cons who called it home as they tried to rebuild their lives. Yet even as evidence against Jonah mounts, most of Misp seems ready to forgive and protect him, closing ranks with a small town's contradictory swirl of malice, bigotry, community allegiance, and compassion.Jessica must confront her own fears, come to her own conclusions, and somehow reconcile her love for her brother--and her grudging respect and growing feeling for the forensics expert who may send Jonah to jail for life.