Lydia Chass doesn’t mind living in a small town; she just doesn’t want to die in one. A lifetime of hard work has put her on track to attend a prestigious journalism program and leave Henley behind—until a school error leaves her a credit short of graduating. Undeterred, Lydia has a plan to earn that credit: transform her listener-friendly local history podcast into a hard-hitting, truth-telling expose. She’ll investigate the Long Stretch of Bad Days—a week when Henley was hit by a tornado, a flash food, as well as its first—and only—murder, which remains unsolved. But Lydia needs help to bring grit to the show. Bristal Jamison has a bad reputation and a foul mouth, but she also needs a credit to graduate. Together, they dig into the town’s worst week, determined to solve the murder. Their investigation unearths buried secrets: a hidden brothel, lost family treasure, and a teen girl that disappeared.