The year is 1929, & newlyweds George & Serena Pemberton arrive from Boston in the North Carolina mountains to create a timber empire. Serena is new to the mountains
- but she soon shows herself the equal of any worker, overseeing crews, hunting rattlesnakes, even saving her husband`s life in the wilderness. Yet she also learns that she will never bear a child. Serena`s discovery will set in motion a course of events that will change the lives of everyone in this remote community. As the Pembertons` intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel, this riveting story of love, passion & revenge moves toward its shocking reckoning.