Now in its 41st printing, this classic novel, set during and after the divided loyalties of the Civil War in the Southern mountains, describes Lydia McQueen's efforts to overcome grave challenges, live her best life, and bring a school to her community. This quest involves the challenges of the natural world and is entangled with the desires and ambitions of all the novel's diverse characters - including a clan of outcasts - and promises to resolve mysteries that go back to the days of the war.