In December 1864, a boy is born in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, near Sure Hope, Virginia. The Civil War is in its final stages, having destroyed countless lives and livelihoods. Sure Hope is an idyllic mountain town. There, the boy grows up and experiences the usual adventures and misadventures of rambunctious boyhood. It is a good life. As he grows into manhood, he discovers the importance of family and community-and love. Yet, from the beginning, his life is also filled with unusual mysteries, dangers, sorrows, surprises, and sufferings. And he finds that Sure Hope is more than a town.