An immigrant family, a new nation, and a moral crisis

Cheated out of their estate in Northern Ireland, the Givens family arrives in America in 1819. They settle in Cincinnati, a burgeoning town whose rise, like the Givenses’, will be fashioned by populism, evangelism, capitalism, and the struggle for emancipation.

After losing their parents, James, Olivia, and Erasmus Givens must fend for themselves. James marries into a prosperous family and builds a successful business. Erasmus becomes an itinerant preacher. Olivia marries a doctor who spurns social mores.

When her husband dies, Olivia travels to Kentucky, where she encounters the horrors of slavery. Olivia and her family go on to perform courageous, dangerous acts of moral rectitude that will reverberate for generations.

Review Quotes

“[Gamble] draws all her characters so skillfully and with such depth that no matter how much you’d like to take sides, it’s impossible.”—Cincinnati Enquirer

“Gamble has created a vivid and fierce-souled trio who navigate some of the strongest crosscurrents of American history.”—Jessica Shattuck

“Luminous...imparts a remarkable sense of place while launching a searing indictment of prejudice.”—Booklist

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