George dies under his wife’s care, and the farm is turned over to her to run. After being hospitalized, George returns home where the infection in his leg leads to having it amputated. Taking no chances, they shoot him in the leg. When the authorities finally catch up with George, George points a pistol at them.

George, who is physically weak and ailing, decides to send the men ahead to safety while he stays in the woods to serve as a decoy for Sheriff Hackstedde and Mr. Caleb, Prentiss, and George decide to flee north to safety. While waiting for the judge to come into town, Caleb breaks Prentiss out of jail. Prentiss, who takes exception to the proclamation of August’s innocence, attacks the Sheriff and ends up in jail awaiting the judgment of what will likely be death by hanging. The events of that afternoon set off a firestorm of hatred and distrust among the members of the town toward the Walkers, who support and try to protect the former slaves.Ĭaleb eventually tells the truth about August’s involvement in Landry’s murder, but the town doubts that August, the son of the well-to-do and respected Mr. When August sees Landry watching him and Caleb consummating their relationship at a nearby pond, he fears their secret is in jeopardy, and he chases him through the woods until he catches him and beats him to death. However, beyond the memories of being beaten by Union soldiers is the sexual attraction he has for August Webler, his best friend and fellow Confederate soldier. When Caleb, George and Isabelle Walker’s son who joined the Confederate Army, suddenly returns home after it was believed he was killed for deserting the army during the fighting, he brings with him the emotional turmoil soldiers inherit from war.

The men live on George’s farm, and Landry, who much prefers his freedom in silence, turns to the forest to help him regain his identity. George, who is regularly in the woods hunting an elusive animal that has haunted him since childhood, offers the men work turning part of his forest into a meaningful and productive peanut farm. The men, who accidentally meet up with George Walker on his forested property that borders Majesty’s Palace, the plantation where they were enslaved, plan to move to the North after enough money to do so. Set immediately following the Civil War in the fictional town of Old Ox, Georgia, the novel follows two formerly enslaved men, Prentiss and Landry, as they adjust to life as freed men under the newly signed Emancipation Proclamation. Content warning: This book includes depictions of antigay bias, racial slurs, and racially-motivated violence.

The sweetness of water