Summary

In Chapter 1, Brushy Mountain Road is home to the wealthy residents of Pinewood, North Carolina. The newest resident on Brushy is JJ Ferguson, a self-made man. Married couple Don and Sylvia, African-Americans, would drive the road when younger to see how the wealthy lived, and it became a kind of painful reminder of their own unrealized dreams of success. Don and Sylvia have fought and struggled all their lives to keep the small house they have now. The lumber mills and factories have nearly all gone, so jobs and money are scarce. As Don, Sylvia, and others age, most hold to their faith in Jesus and the hope they will be able to reinvent or survive. Everyone still retains their dreams. Up on Brushy Mountain Road, as Mexican crews clear the land and build his mansion, JJ works alongside them. Don and Sylvia watch...