The Golden Hour

In 1852, deep in the Delta of Mississippi, the choice to sell one slave sets in motion a series of tragic events for two families that will test the honor and faith of all. Years before the brutality of the Civil War, acts of callous cruelty were already a way of life. In the rich alluvial soil of the Mississippi River, the master of Arledge Hall Plantation decides expansion is in order. To raise money for more land, he sells a young slave to Five Oaks, a neighboring plantation. This act rips Thomas from his parents, Joe and Lucy, and puts members of the Banks family at odds with each other as some of them know how dangerous the Stanford's abusive overseer can be. Merciless and vindictive, the overseer is a brute who has no respect for any man, regardless of skin color, and even less respect for women. Joe and Lucy grieve the absence of their son, knowing only God alone can protect Thomas. But trying to find acceptance that the usually docile master sold their child requires a strength they're not sure they have. As they grapple with heartache, circumstances find Joe protecting a woman from the overseer's advances, and that guarantees retribution via Thomas, which forces him to escape. This creates an unimaginable domino effect of vengeance, intimidation, and eventually, murder, rending the two southern families' friendship and fracturing the budding romances between the Stanford and Banks children, although forbidden fruit tempts all the more. As a vengeful enemy continues to threaten the occupants of Arledge Hall, Joe's courageous faith shines like a beacon in a storm. But when a cruel twist of fate plays out, can the two families endure while facing the approaching threat of war? Spend a decade at Arledge Hall in this first book of the trilogy and discover why you'll want to visit again and again.