From the New York Times bestselling author of Cold Mountain and Varina, a stunning new novel that paints a vivid portrait of life in the Great Depression
Hurtling past the downtrodden communities of Depression-era America, painter Val Welch travels westward to the rural town of Dawes, Wyoming. Through a stroke of luck, he’s landed a WPA assignment to create a mural representing the region for their new Post Office.
A wealthy art lover named John Long and his wife Eve have agreed to host Val at their sprawling ranch. Long and Eve are the subject of many local rumors—about his shady political aspirations, about her itinerant former life riding the rails—but Val quickly finds himself entranced by each. One day, Eve flees home with a valuable painting in tow, and Long recruits Val to hit the road with a mission of tracking her down. Journeying from ramshackle Hoovervilles to San Francisco nightclubs to the swamps of Florida, Val´s search for Eve narrows, and he soon turns up secrets that could spark formidable changes for all of them.
Charles Frazier is a singular American writer with an unrivaled ability to conjure up the lives of everyday people during extraordinary periods of history. With the keen perceptions of humanity and transcendent storytelling that have made him beloved for decades, Frazier has created a powerful and timeless new classic.