Description: It's the early 1800s and August King, a farmer in the mountains of Western North Carolina, encounters a runaway slave girl and finds himself facing a moral decision that could cost him his own freedom, property, and even his life.
Review Quotes:
Like a sitting bomb the intensity of this novel builds until its final explosion: a blend of love story and comment on racial strife, this explores a North Carolinan pioneer's involvement with a young runaway slave. The two loners find their lives drawn together as events proceed toward an inevitable confrontation and possible further loss for both. --Midwest Book Review
August King is, as Ehle likes them, a man with flaws and sorrows but one basically at peace with himself and his lot--a fortyish, handsome North Carolina farmer inclined to vagueness and some secrecy, but still practical and plain in his enjoyments. His maverick moment comes on a trip to town when he chances on a runaway slave girl--this is circa 1810--and fascination, plus decency and a distaste for her planter owner, take over from habit. Their great escape and gradual coming together are a winding, rutted wagon tour of a time and region that Ehle catches disarmingly--the styles of humor, the imaginative limits, the order of business, and the people themselves. There's always a kernel to be reckoned with in his hayseeds and real wit in the country cunning, plus the warmth and shadings of his characteristically sunny view. --Kirkus Reviews