Of all the folks in the mountain shacks, the Casteels were the lowest – the scum of the hills. Heaven Leigh Casteel was the prettiest, smartest girl in the backwoods, despite her ragged clothes and dirty face, a father meaner than ten vipers and a weary stepmother who works her like a mule. For her many siblings, Heaven clung to her pride and her hopes. Someday they’d get away and show the world that they were decent, fine and talented – worthy of love and respect.
