Wartime in Perdido jolted the sleepy little Alabama town as new people entered the community. Outsiders would invade the comfort of the wealthy Caskeys and take their daughters.

This, though, was the part of the master plan of Elinor Caskey, who would see the family flourish amidst the destruction and death she administered in a fashion more awesome than the war itself.

The epic novel Blackwater will continue with The Fortune and subsequent volumes.