Based upon actual events including an infamous murder trial, this history-tinged tale follows the fascinating and tragic life of Sidney Mack, a brilliant African-American man who began his required service to the Confederacy as a horse handler but rapidly rose to the rank of sergeant because of his intelligence, gallantry and heroism, not to mention his friendship with important citizens of Washington, Arkansas. The love story of Sidney and the beautiful Easter Mulberry was cut short by mental aberrations brought on by the war, homemade whiskey and, the strange consequences of Hoo Doo. Easter's mother was steeped in these arcane arts that she imported to Arkansas from Louisiana. Also, before it was called such, post-traumatic stress disorder was doubtless rampant after the War Between the States and the condition led Sidney to an unthinkable act after the war that culminated in sheer horror. The novel deals with several important issues in the development of the American South, including difficulties as contemporary as today's newspaper: aging, alcoholism, racism, the death penalty, mental illness and war to name a few. Ford's droll and often quirky tone rides upon a rapid, attention-holding pace. The South portrayed in this novel is quite different from the aristocratic images frequently put forth in stories. Washington, Arkansas was a frontier town and, as this tragic tale makes clear, things were very different there.