Jakie Creek is a fast-paced novel inspired by the life and times of William Henderson Phillips, a Union soldier and renowned outlaw who returned to Golden, Missouri in 1865 to find his farm life forever changed. This is a story about North and South, good and bad, black and white, but mostly gray– a place in between, a place called Jakie Creek. A border state during the Civil War, Missouri was caught in the strife of the Civil War. Towns and families were torn apart in the conflict. The Phillips’ homestead on the banks of the Kings River near the town of Golden in Barry County was changed dramatically. A town in chaos, brother hated brother, and women and children were left to fend desperately for themselves as lawlessness prevailed. Survival was never assured. A tale of struggle between men and women, honor and betrayal, the laws of God and man -- you’ll find yourself both empathizing with and revolted by the characters in this story. This is J. K. Phillips’ first novel. Through extensive field research in southwestern Missouri, she has uncovered previously unknown facts about her family’s roots in the Ozarks. Those facts form the basis of this historical epic.