In Nowhere on the Map, everyone has their own personal battles that they wage, for Jon Banks after he lost his parents to a car accident he is left with a strong sense of loyalty for the woman that raised him, his Aunt Fern. Fern stepped into the role of both parents until Jon was an adult. Once she felt she had fulfilled her duty, she retired to a small town in Ohio while Jon follows his fathers’ example becoming a city cop. Just as Fern has embraced retirement, Jon has done the same in living in the metropolis of Cincinnati. He loves the city life – the sports, the microbreweries, and clubs. Life is lived in the city herself, working there, celebrating and having his meals with others like him. In the city, apartments are you went home to when there was nothing better to do, a rarity in Cincinnati. She was not just a zip code; she had a heartbeat of her own, and like any woman could put you through the paces. As life will, their own pursuits catch up with the two leaving them to connect only during holidays. Late one night, Jon receives a call from Robert Park, Fern’s lawyer. It is his turn to be there for her now that she has suffered a stroke. In addition to other legal issues, Jon has acquired a duplex in the small town. He finds himself challenged, due to his overwhelming sense of duty he feels he must stay. Unsure what his Aunt Fern needed from him, he was certain, however, there was nothing in this small town he would need for himself. He meets Maggie Lewis, the stepdaughter of the Chief of Police in Hawks Ridge. His aunt also appointed her as the caretaker of the duplex in his absence. He learns over time, that there is more to the girl than meets the eye. She grew up taking care of her mother and excelling in rebellion. However once she moved to Hawks Ridge, Maggie left that girl behind in the dust of these country roads, embracing the small town and its inhabitants. Maggie thinks of her stepfamily of her own, especially after her mother abandons her. Growing up in a less than ideal home life was challenging enough. However, she spirals out of control emotionally when her mother Nancy simply walks out on the Chief and out of Maggie’s life. She never shook the image of the bedroom thrown into disarray, evidence of her mother’s haste while she packed. The silence in the house when she came home from school that day let her know the truth before she saw the evidence. She could never explain it but even then, Maggie knew the woman had left her. The tough young woman develops an incurable fear of being abandon that manifests itself in reoccurring nightmares. Although she is the town sweetheart, she remains alone never risking her heart to any man. After meeting Jon, his personality lures her from her safe perch and she finds herself falling in love with the ‘new guy’ in town. He is able to join the small police force temporarily giving him the necessary time to spend with his Aunt. This also answers a need the small police unit has after an accident sidelines one of their officers. Maggie herself would have loved to be in police work herself; however, the Chief nixed her plans. Still, she found ways to be part of the force by helping the small department to obtain equipment like bulletproof vests and applying for grants and loans. Due to this, Maggie had become an enormous member of the town’s police force despite her diminutive size. Currently, her focus was on organizing old cases and files to enter into the state and federal database. This brings up an old cold case that of the murdered teen, Josh Taylor. Josh was like Maggie; a boy being raised in a chaotic home that robbed him of his childhood. She assists Officer Bobby Collins lending him administrative support as he takes a fresh look at the crime. As they sort out the information the puzzle unravels, the threads pulling in another person from the small town. Robert Park is a local attorney and a highly respected member of the community. His past all but forgotten by the small town; nevertheless, he has not escaped it. Unknown to Hawk’s Ridge the violence of his childhood created an alter ego and the man split creating a violent side. He knows what happened to Josh Taylor, just as he knows what caused Officer Sue Danner’s car accident. Robert’s brother will also be responsible for the ambush and shooting of one of their officers, Bobby Collins. He will then create the bomb bringing the police station down around Maggie and Jon, critically injuring her. Robert will confess to it all in the end before taking his life and ending his torment. The crime of Josh Taylor is solved but not without a cost. The events in the small town change Jon, he is as far from who he had been as a man can be. No longer a city boy, he feels tied to the small community. He faces a dilemma when his old unit calls him back to the city. Maggie struggles with old fears when Jon tells her he has to return to Cincinnati. She has to leap blindly forward or risk losing him. In the end, Maggie learns risking your heart has its own reward.