Meg Telford's husband, Joe, was killed during the Civil War. He left her left her 'land poor' -- plenty of land but no money. Meg is getting pressure to sell out and live with her mother-in-law (a domineering and controlling presence). But Meg believes in the dream she and Joe had and she is determined to control her destiny and her land. With foreclosure staring her in the face, Meg makes a list of the marriageable men in the area and is left with three choices.
The only one capable of helping Meg retain her land is the local bad boy, who has returned from the Civil War with minor injuries. Unfortunately, Tye Hatcher is socially unacceptable; he's the illegitimate son of one of the town's whores. He's come back to town to prove that he is worthy of respect. Unfortunately, it is hard to earn that respect when no one will give him a job.
Meg is looking for a business proposition, nothing more. She and Tye negotiate a workable compromise. Tye warns Meg that she will not be accepted once she marries him. Not really believing Tye, Meg assures him that she can handle it. The only thing he neglects to mention is that he has promised to take a whore's child to raise when she dies of consumption. She dies soon after Meg and Tye marry.
XXXSPOILERS XXX To explain why I dropped the rating calls for spoilers. Do not continue to read if you don't want to know too much about the plot. I had a hard time believing that no one told Meg what Tye was doing in town for all of those weeks. I also found it hard to believe that Meg had no clue that Tye would be intimidated by Joe's omnipresence in their lives (even though he was dead). Granted, she was grappling with her own emotions about transferring her allegiance to her new husband. Still, I expected a bit more understanding by Meg.
The only one capable of helping Meg retain her land is the local bad boy, who has returned from the Civil War with minor injuries. Unfortunately, Tye Hatcher is socially unacceptable; he's the illegitimate son of one of the town's whores. He's come back to town to prove that he is worthy of respect. Unfortunately, it is hard to earn that respect when no one will give him a job.
Meg is looking for a business proposition, nothing more. She and Tye negotiate a workable compromise. Tye warns Meg that she will not be accepted once she marries him. Not really believing Tye, Meg assures him that she can handle it. The only thing he neglects to mention is that he has promised to take a whore's child to raise when she dies of consumption. She dies soon after Meg and Tye marry.
XXXSPOILERS XXX To explain why I dropped the rating calls for spoilers. Do not continue to read if you don't want to know too much about the plot. I had a hard time believing that no one told Meg what Tye was doing in town for all of those weeks. I also found it hard to believe that Meg had no clue that Tye would be intimidated by Joe's omnipresence in their lives (even though he was dead). Granted, she was grappling with her own emotions about transferring her allegiance to her new husband. Still, I expected a bit more understanding by Meg.
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