First published 1994
Josephus walks free from bondage and settles in Yoville, a township the wealthy built for themselves. He fathers two daughters with different women. Ruth comes first, then Yinyang. Josephus burns with ambition for his younger daughter and himself. He wants money and chances that slavery denied him. This hunger spreads through his family like poison in water. The other people of Yoville carry their own fierce wants. Their desires clash and tangle with his family's dreams. Josephus makes choices he keeps buried. These secrets will mark his daughters and their children for generations. Ruth and Yinyang grow up shaped by their father's hidden past and driving need. Cooper follows this family through years of struggle with sin and the search for forgiveness.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-saga, secrets
Setting: Yoville
Period: 19th-century
351 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday
Content warnings: slavery