_Shelf Unbound finalist for 2023 Best Indie Book Award._American Fiction Awards 2023 finalist in the category of family saga._Shortlisted for Chanticleer International's 2023 Laramie award in Americana fiction._Literary Titan Gold Book Award, May 2023.*Longlisted for Chanticleer International's 2023 Best Series Award (as part of The Silk Trilogy).Trouble lurks in the Lowcountry of South Carolina in the guise of a family feud, forbidden love, and a journalist hell-bent on uncovering corruption.Meet Zingle Caddell, who doesn't regret the destruction left in his wake so much as he is annoyed by it. Figuring no man can continue to have such bad luck, Zingle is waiting for his fortunes to improve. He knows what he likes--alcohol, women, and family, in about that order--and he'll continue on with them as before. That is, until he's surprised by a violent encounter with his match, Jessie Bell, when her stepdaughter doesn't come home as expected. Bad blood is rampant between the Bells and the Caddells by the time Jessie's daughter and Zingle's nephew unwittingly fall in love. Forbidden to see one another, the couple must decide how much they're willing to risk. Is it worth being ostracized from their families? Destitution? Their very lives?