"It{u2019}s 1977. Bannen, Georgia, nestled amid pine forests, is rife with contrasts: natural beauty and racial tension, small-town charm and long-term poverty. An unsettling place for a Black man who fled it years ago and has since traveled the world. But Greer Michaels has to come home, to care for his dying mother. And that means he{u2019}ll have to reckon with the devastating secret that drove him out in the first place. Greer{u2019}s story is intertwined with those of the people around him: His mother, Elizabeth, who once had a dazzling singing voice but fell silent years ago. Their neighbor Esse, who has turned to religion after her own traumatic past. Esse{u2019}s teenaged daughter, Ceiley, an insatiable reader with a burning curiosity about life beyond Bannen{u2019}s town limits."--Amazon.com.