Fourteen year old Gertie is singlehandedly raising her little sister, Izzie. Orphaned after their mother's death, the two girls are secretly living on their own, attempting to stay under the radar so they can remain together. Meanwhile Gertie's new teacher, Mrs. Freeman, and her husband struggle with their inability to have a child. Both Gertie and Mrs. Freeman have fallen from faith, but can these two "broken" families find renewed devotion by coming...

In 1929, just as the Depression has hit, George and Serena Pemberton, love-struck newlyweds, move from Boston to North Carolina to build a timber empire. Serena soon proves herself to be equal to any man: overseeing loggers, hunting rattlesnakes, even saving a man's life in the wilderness. With power and influence now in their hands, the Pembertons refuse to let anyone stand in the way of their inflated love and ambitions. However, once Serena discovers...

In 1929, just as the Depression has hit, newlywed couple George and Serena Pemberton, move from Boston to North Carolina to build a timber empire. Although Serena proves herself to be an important part of their success, overseeing crews and handling every bit of trouble that comes upon them, when Serena discovers she's unable to bear children, it sets her on a path of destruction.

A wife, tortured by the disappearance of her only child years before, desperate to have another child, is devastated when she learns that her husband is infertile. Then two teen-age boys are hired to work on the family property. As the horrors of the past collide with the sins of the present, these three lost souls form a bizarre bond that leads to tragedy, terror and grueling murder.