The stunning new novel from the author of international million-copy
bestseller Cold MountainHurtling past the downtrodden communities of
Depression-era America, painter Val Welch travels westward to the rural
town of Dawes, Wyoming. Through a stroke of luck, he's landed a New Deal
assignment to create a mural representing the region for their new Post
Office.A wealthy art lover named John Long and his wife Eve have agreed
to host Val at their sprawling ranch. Rumors and intrigue surround the
couple: Eve left behind an itinerant life riding the rails and singing
in a western swing band.
Long holds shady political aspirations,
but was once a WWI sniper-and his right hand is a mysterious elder
cowboy, a vestige of the violent old west. Val quickly finds himself
entranced by their lives.One day, Eve flees home with a valuable
painting in tow, and Long recruits Val to hit the road with a mission of
tracking her down. Journeying from ramshackle Hoovervilles to San
Francisco nightclubs to the swamps of Florida, Val's search for Eve
narrows, and he soon turns up secrets that could spark formidable
changes for all of them.