This sweeping saga plunges into early 19th-century America, tracing the intertwined lives of a family amidst pivotal historical upheavals. Follow characters from the saloons of Natchez to the intrigue of New Orleans, as they navigate the volatile frontier and the complex social landscape of Mississippi plantations. The series delves into themes of survival, destiny, and the search for identity against a backdrop of national transformation. It's a captivating exploration of resilience, ambition, and the enduring human spirit during a transformative era.
It is 1861, and Angel Woolsack is a confederate about to breathe his last, as the Union forces make their inexorable approach. Rejected by his wife, his wealth no longer useful to him, he sets about recording his testament.
New Orleans, May 1862. The largest city in the ill-starred confederacy has fallen to Union troops . When twelve-year-old Joseph Woolsack disappears from his home, her terrifies his mother Elise and enrages his father Angel. Joseph must come to grips with his father's legacy of violence, and his growing affection for his neighbor, the Cuban orphan girl Marina Fandal. Elise must struggle to maintain a hold on her sanity, her son and her station, but is threatened by the resurgence of a troubling figure from her past, Dr. Emile Sabatier, a fanatical physician who adores disease and is deeply mired in the conspiracy and intrigue surrounding the occupation of the city. These characters' paths all intersect with General Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts, a man who history will call a beast, but whose avarice and brutal acumen are ideally suited to the task of governing an "ungovernable city."
Set against the backdrop of the Gulf Coast in 1914, the narrative follows Isaac, a nature-loving artist with a mysterious past, and Kemper, a defiant heiress entangled in family rivalries. As they seek solace in their idyllic surroundings, tensions rise within Kemper's family, particularly with her brothers Angel and Red, whose secrets and violence threaten their refuge. The story intertwines themes of love, family drama, and the looming shadow of World War I, exploring the complex legacy of beauty and turmoil that defines their lives and the region.