Colman Harpe works for the C&O in the Appalachian rail town of Thurmond, Western world Virginia, but he’d rather be a preacher and lead his own congregation. Whenever a member of the rival McLean clan guns down his cousin and the clan matriarch, Serepta McLean, taunts the Harpes by arriving at a tent revival within their territory, Colman chooses peace over looking for revenge with the rest of his family members. Colman, known for an unnaturally enthusiastic feeling of hearing, is normally stunned when he hears God tell him to preach to the McLeans. A failed attempt to run away leaves Colman ill and suffering within the last place he wished to be–McLean territory. Nursed by herbalist Ivy Gordon–a girl whose uncommon appearance has produced her an outcast–he’s hindered in his phoning by Serepta’s iron grasp on the region and his uncle’s desire to break that grip. But appearances could be deceiving, and he soon learns that the face of evil doesn’t look like he expected.