In Wanda Fries' first novel, Deana Perry, the daughter of a coal miner, and Will Brinson, the son of a wealthy coal operator, believed they had left Ash Grove, Kentucky, far behind them. In love, and desperate to escape the secrets that surrounded them, they left together years before and after a passionate love affair, went their separate ways. Now Cleave Brinson is dead and Wayman Dean Perry is dying. Will, who wonders if his powerful father is capable of murder, finds himself drawn back to Ash Grove intent upon unraveling the mystery of his mother's death. Deana, who has made a life for herself and Sophie, the daughter Will never knew about, has one last opportunity to see her own father before he dies. So far, Deana has been able to protect Sophie from the sadness and abuse of Deana's own childhood. But is she strong enough to resist allowing them both to be pulled back into the orbit of the man who broke her heart? Lee Smith writes, "Wanda Fries goes straight for the heart in Ash Grove, a story of lost love and terrible secrets in an Appalachian mining town. Both gritty and poetic, real and transcendent, Ash Grove is a literary page-turner, heralding a major new talent. Wanda Fries writes from deep within the contemporary culture of Appalachia, and she gets it all just exactly right."