Matthew Brown is a rising star in the “New South” political machine. He’s also, he knows, a complete fraud. Riding a wave of accomplishments by colleagues and subordinates through various government agencies, Matthew has ascended to associate director of the Department of Corrections, and his potential has caught the eye of the party power brokers, who are priming him for even grander political office. But suddenly tasked with organizing the state’s first execution in a decade, Matthew’s...