Love, hate, ambition, greed, lasciviousness-- human nature is laid bare in this story about the fall of the grandest house in Hebron, Georgia. Following the sudden death on the same night of her infant son and her rich and powerful husband, Ada McCallum, too young and too beautiful, must assume control of a vast empire and make her way in a world of men at war, at home and abroad. Strong willed Ada, a twentieth-century Scarlett O'Hara, succeeds in business and in love, but her behavior can be reckless and her choices unwise. Local newspaper editor and McCallum family friend Carl Goodman narrates Ada's life and reveals dark secrets. He also chronicles race relations, ghost sightings, and happenings in and around Sailla County.