This story is historical fiction about the city of Waco, Texas, Baylor University, and some of the Baptists and folks of the town during the latter years of the 19th Century. Most of the characters are loosely based on real people that lived at the time but are exaggerated and extrapolated to develop the story.
Not everything was peaceful serenity in this small town located on the Brazos River on the cusp of the 20th Century. People held grudges and had axes to grind for real or perceived wrongdoings between such characters as William Cowper Brann a semi-famous local newspaper writer, the Carroll Brothers who ran the Baptist religion in the state, and the mayor of Waco, J.W. Riggins. Red, the primary narrator falls in love with Inez Brann, the daughter of William Cowper Brann, the city's primary antagonist of the story. Red is heartbroken at their truncated relationship. As the story progresses, the history of the city including the devastating F5 tornado that struck the city in 1953, plays a critical part in a love story and quite possibly subsequent tragedies that have repeatedly struck the city over the years.