To an outsider, Prince George County, Alabama, would appear to be an idyllic, peaceful community of neighbors who have known one another their entire lives. For those who have the courage to look deeper, one scratch of the surface reveals a place of fierce loyalties, submerged passions and a violence reserved for anyone foolish enough to defy a time-honored way of life. At the center of this community - and of this astonishing novel - is Rose of Sharon. Cut off by the death of her son and by her own fears from the only life she ever imagined, Rose has become numb to her neighbors' petty jealousies and to the casual brutalities of her husband, Dashnell. As she goes about the business of making a home for her husband and caring for a mother whose disappointment in her permeates every frail connection they achieve, Rose observes life around her with a merciless and razor-sharp eye. She sees the legacy of hate that shapes the lives of her family and friends in their small southern town; the men whose misplaced pride finds its only solace in occasional eruptions of savagery; and the women who ward off loneliness and desperation with their hurtful gossip. Rose privately opposes the things she sees, but keeping the secrets of Prince George County has become second nature. Until one night when those secrets are shattered by a single gunshot and Rose makes a decision from which there is no turning back. With one life-altering act, Rose finally dares to tell the truth - and earns her one chance at redemption.