Samuel Gilpin, the patriarch, who carved a home from a wilderness. George, the son, with a blushing bride and a glittering future - until the stranger cast his spell. Sarah, the golden-haired daughter who gave her love to a roving preacher man - and grew into a woman. Rev. Oliver Hargrave, the con-man of God who changed all their lives - then escaped to wander down the moonlit tides. And Lucius, their child. From bustling Vicksburg to brazen New Orleans, no town could claim him. No tie could bind him. For Lucius Hargrave answered only to the wild song of the river - and the call of a footloose conjure man, vanished long ago...