In the quiet town of Painted Post, the Ernst clan has long been known for their coonhounds and knowledge of the forest. Mead Ernst is a kind but firm man, struggling with the loss of his father and brother. With the help of his wife, Sarah, they raise their children--Lill, John, and Mattie--chasing behind coonhounds in their hometown's woodlands--a place of legendary beasts and guiding spirits. Lill Ernst, beautiful but bullied by high school classmates, retreats into the forests. Beneath the trees, she seeks the comfort of being alone. With a rescued bluetick coonhound named Judge, Lill meets a mysterious woman in the forests who teaches her about life and her own potential. Andrew Renthro comes from a different world. He's the teenage son of a long-dead father whose death he believes the Ernsts caused. Adopted by a drug kingpin, Andrew is sent to prove his worth and goes to Painted Post to avenge a parent he can't remember.  However, the forests of Painted Post don't belong solely to the realm of man. Stories of guiding spirits, ghostly hounds, and hideous beasts abound in this mystical place of forests, streams, and woodland pathways. Many trails in Ryland Creek converge in these oak-strewn hills. Some paths leads to redemption, while others end in certain doom. But all have the potential to become legend. Joseph Gary Crance was born in Upstate New York near his hometown of Painted Post. The author spent hundreds of nights with his father Gary, a New York State Forest Ranger, and their dogs chasing raccoon through the hills bounding this historic and scenic land. After a career in the U.S. Air Force (USAF)—a part of which he spent teaching survival training—he returned with his family to Painted Post and the woodland hollows of his youth to again listen to the nighttime songs of hounds pursuing the wily ringtail. Admittedly, Joe doesn't climb these unchanging hills as fast as he once did. But that's okay. His hounds and the oaks have a great deal of patience. Mr. Crance is a member of the New York State Outdoor Writers Association and holds degrees in Survival and Rescue Operations from the Community College of the USAF and a bachelors in Professional Writing from Mansfield University.