The pre-Civil War South comes brilliantly to life in this masterfully written novel centered around a mysterious and charismatic healer readers won't soon forget.

Plantation Mistress Amanda Satterfield's intense grief over losing her daughter crosses the line into madness when she takes a newborn slave child as her own and names her Granada. Troubled by his wife's disturbing mental state and concerned about a mysterious plague that is sweeping through the plantation's slave population, Master Satterfield purchases Polly Shine, a slavewoman known as a healer. But the master gets more than he bargained for when Polly's sharp tongue and troubling predictions cause unrest throughout the plantation.

Complicating matters further, Polly recognizes "the gift" in young Granada, and a domestic battle of wills ensues that raises tantalizing questions about who Polly Shine really is: a clever charlatan, a meddlesome witch, or a divine redeemer.

The Healing is a tremendously rewarding work of fiction, rich in mood and atmosphere; the kind of novel readers can't put down—and can't wait to recommend once they've finished.