Another burning kingdom

The novel shifts among the points of view of three characters: Jackson, a 45-year-old loner living in a house near where he and his brother grew up in western Nebraska, has grown disillusioned with America's materialistic path and is plotting a sinister act involving the state capitol building. His brother, Lem, a former pro baseball prospect, is driving hell-bent from his home in Glendale, Ariz., in the middle of the night, having become alarmed by a conversation with Jackson, who amply exhibited his violent streak two years earlier. Then there's Lissa, Lem's wife, long wary of Jackson's destructive influence on her husband: even though she has found happiness in an affair, Lissa is plagued by ominous thoughts about Jackson.