The eighth day

This tale set around the turn of the twentieth century in a mining town in southern Illinois is about two families blasted apart by the apparent murder of one father by the other. The miraculous escape of the accused killer, John Ashley, on the eve of his execution and his flight to freedom triggers a powerful story tracing the fate of his and the victim's wife and children. At once a murder mystery and a philosophical story it follows the journeys made by several characters as they defy Victorian conventions in an effort to be part of a better, more caring, American community.