>An abusive father sends Lane to the streets at an early age. He survives by stealing and dealing drugs. Those bad habits and a hot temper land him in jail time after time. When it seems that cold gray prison walls are suffocating any goodness left inside him, Lane vows to break the loser syndrome. He wants freedom and a life in the sun and escapes in search of both. When Julia's electric blue eyes meet his across a dance floor, Lane finds something else he wants. >In the midst of a tumultuous divorce, a bruised Julia finds Lane fascinating, mysterious, and a little scary. Her southern mother's imaginary wails of disapproval echo in her mind but she ignores them. Lane's "temporary" refuge with an avid marijuana grower draws her tightly into a seductive and sensuous new world. By day, they sweat in the sun-drenched field and smoke "fine grass" on work breaks. Night finds them dancing in a cabin in the woods. The thorn in their smoke-and-love-hazed world is their host's brother, a sinister figure who Lane says carries the scent of jail. Mitch is a dangerous man. The odds were always against Lane. In Walk Softly, two unforgettable characters battle those odds for their love, and their lives.