Mary knows she should resist the advances of the charming Reverend Carawan, but she doesn't. All she has ever known is life as a domestic servant, but she has always wanted more. When he proposes marriage while his first wife still clings to life, she accepts. After all, he is the wealthiest and most influential man in Rose Bay, North Carolina, and everything she has ever dreamed of seems within reach. Finally, it is her chance to experience the life she has always been denied in the self-proclaimed glorious South.Unfortunately for Mary, it isn't long before Reverend Carawan's blatant infidelity and violent outbursts shatter the majestic life she had once imagined. He preaches the Word of God, but she only finds true salvation in the arms of the new schoolteacher Clement Lassiter. He is everything Reverend Carawan is not and restores her hope for a better life. But Reverend Carawan doesn't tolerate anything that might tarnish his good name or jeopardize his standing in the community. He is a dangerous man when angry, but when threatened, he is deadly.