Big Lies in a Small Town: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains a depiction of sexual assault and discusses suicide.

North Carolina, 1940: Three siblings stumble upon a dead body in a creek, “his head all caved in” (2). Because the siblings are Black and the dead man is white, they know to keep their discovery a secret.

Incarcerated for her role in a tragic DUI accident that injured the other driver badly enough to need a wheelchair, Morgan Christopher receives a visit from two women who offer her a get-out-of-jail deal. Lisa Williams, the daughter of a recently deceased artist named Jesse Jameson Williams is accompanied by the executor of his will. The women inform Morgan that Jesse’s will stipulates that Morgan restore a Depression-era mural for display in Jesse’s new gallery. Furthermore, she must live in Edenton, North Carolina, in Lisa’s house, and the project must be completed in two months. She will be paid $50,000 for the work. Although she has no experience in art restoration, Morgan is desperate to get out of prison and accepts the offer.