First published 1959
Jasper Harrick lies trapped in Johntown Cave after a rock fall blocks his escape route. Above ground, the rescue effort draws townspeople, reporters, and opportunists to the mountain. Jack Harrick struggles with his feelings about his trapped brother while their family waits. The cave-in becomes a media spectacle that exposes the tensions running through this small Tennessee community. Local businessman Monty Harwood sees a chance for profit in the tragedy. As the rescue drags on, old grudges surface and new alliances form among the gathered crowd. The town's residents confront their own buried secrets while one young man fights for survival in the darkness below. Warren explores how crisis strips away pretense and reveals what people truly value when death becomes real.
Genres: fiction, drama, american-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: crisis, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Johntown Cave, Tennessee
Period: 20th-century
403 pages · Hardcover · Random House