Robert Morgan's first novel unfolds through the voices of three generations of Appalachian storytellers. In the first segment, adventurous teenager Petal runs off with a handsome homesteader in 1772. She tells of setting up housekeeping on the frontier, including the story of birthing her first baby while staving off a panther. In 1816, Petal's grandson uses a starved pig to track the best route for building a route down the mountain to market. In 1845, Petal's grandson constructs the turnpike down the mountain.
