First published 1994
Cassie Simon scrapes by as an artist in New York City when a magistrate calls with unexpected news. Her unknown grandfather has left her sixty acres in Sweetwater, Tennessee. She packs up and moves to the small Southern town where her mother Ellen grew up and died when Cassie was only three years old. The townspeople remember Ellen vividly. Her presence still shapes conversations and relationships decades later. Cassie finds herself pulled into a web of old stories and half-truths about her mother's tragic death. Each person she meets offers a different piece of the puzzle, but the pieces don't fit together cleanly. As Cassie digs deeper into her family's past, she discovers that love and desperation can drive people to extremes. The truth about her mother's death forces her to confront what people will do when pushed beyond their limits. In a town where everyone knew Ellen, Cassie must decide whether some secrets are worth uncovering.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water
Setting: New York City, Sweetwater, Tennessee
Period: contemporary
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