"Leslie Bruin is assigned to the backwoods township of Spar Creek by the Frontier Nursing Service to vaccinate the flock, birth babies, and weather judgements of churchy locals who look at him and see a failed woman. Forged in the fires of the Western Front and reborn in the cafes of Paris, Leslie believes he can handle whatever is thrown at him--but Spar Creek holds a darkness beyond his nightmares."-- from jacket flap.