He had been busy enough already, fathering a child with a local girl and clear-cutting wide swaths of land. In the primeval woods of North Carolina, young timber baron, George Pemberton, brings his bride, Serena, to live with him in his kingdom.

'I think this is what the end of the world will be like,' McIntyre said, and none among them raised his voice to disagree. Rash's masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains-but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire.

Serena by ron rash