"Granddaddy is a Texas oilman who presides over a sprawling family, all of whom live in a house as big as Tara. His long shadow spans the twentieth century and burdens the lives of four generations, including a doomed son and Stephen, the grieving grandson.".

"Stephen's story and his life follow his alcoholic father to the edge. Although the young man struggles mightily to break the pattern of his own addiction and escape the privilege, tradition, and patriarchy from which he came, he eventually returns home to make peace with the past. Redemption comes from an unexpected source."--BOOK JACKET.