A southern Gothic set in Mississippi, this novel starts by introducing Clement Musgrove, an out-of-town businessman who comes through town hoping to find merchants, but instead, he is beset on all sides by gangsters and highwaymen. At the hotel bar, he encounters the Harp gang, led by Little Harp and Big Harp, the two Harp brothers. Jamie Lockhart, a local thief, overhears them planning to murder Clement and he tips the visitor off.
Clement introduces Jamie to his daughter. He receives gifts from the dinner, but his second wife Salome is jealousy of the lavish attention. The daughter loves her new dress, compliments of her suitor, but a local bandit called the Bandit of the Woods, finds her in the woods and demands she strip naked. Salome fails to woo her husband, but the woodland bandit manages to seduce Rosamund with his silver tongue.
We learn that Rosamund's suitor is the Bandit of the Woods himself, but he keeps his mask on despite her. Salome reaches out to a man named Goat to plan something horrible for Rosamund. After plenty of plotting and scheming, they go to execute the plan, luring the Harp gang into the mix. Jamie reveals his true identity and slays Little Harp, saving Rosamund from the gang.
Months later, Rosamund is pregnant from the Bandit. She encounters Goat and asks about Jamie, but Goat says that man is actually a ghost. Somehow, this spirit has protected Rosamund and impregnated her, but she will likely have to raise the child on her own. Then, despite Goat's words, Jamie shows up and marries her.
