A turbulent saga and rich read, set in the exotic world of the American Deep South in the first half of this century.

For generations, the Nashes and Douglases have reigned over Nashborough, a town in the American South. United by the marriage of the only Douglas son to the beautiful and courageous, but thoroughly undomesticated Dartania Nash, the families become caught up in the dramatic events of the 20th century - the Depression, World War II, the glory days of Hollywood and the rise of the civil rights movement. And as the older generation, its values and outlooks, slowly disappear, its successors, caught in the surge for independence sweeping across America, experience the result - an atrophy of traditional family life, and accompanying loss of roots.