On a clear spring morning in 1977, the old creosote plant in Columbia, Mississippi, exploded, spewing chemicals and debris into the air, causing the evacuation of nearby, primarily poor neighborhoods and spreading fear throughout the community. Nearly three years after two illegal drug operations went sour, the now virtually unrecognizable former spy, Joe Don McDaniel, leaves his heavily wooded, secluded hideout in Hancock County, Mississippi, to check out the mysterious blast. Through con...

DANCING WITH THE WHITE SQUIRRELS BY B.C. MURRAY It was springtime in 1974, and Chance Albright, a recent Harvard graduate, and his wife, Charlotte, a former Boston College cheerleader, arrive in Columbia, Mississippi. Chance will serve as the chief financial officer with Bud's Bargain Stores, a five and dime store chain based in the small South Mississippi town. During a party on their first Saturday night in town, Charlotte and Chance, along with members of the chamber of commerce and the...