
Ethan Hawke stars as Lee Raybon, a man who describes himself as a “truthstorian.” He owns a rare bookstore in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but also works as an investigative journalist for a small local magazine called *The Heartland Press*. The story begins when Dale Washberg, from a prominent Oklahoma family, commits suicide after hiding a note inside a book. This happens shortly after Lee publishes an exposé detailing the Washberg family’s troubled past, but Lee isn’t convinced the two events are simply connected. He believes something more is going on, stating, “Everything is connected. Darkness is always afoot.” Dale’s brother, Donald, is running for governor and appears to be having an inappropriate relationship with Dale’s widow, Betty Jo. Meanwhile, Lee is also investigating Akron Construction, a company that’s buying up Black-owned businesses, and suspects they are intentionally eliminating competition to harm the local economy. Frank Martin, the wealthy and influential owner of Akron, doesn’t appreciate Lee’s investigation, and neither does Allen Murphy, a threatening man who works for him.