Buzzards hovering overhead attest to the many shallow graves they've left behind. Months after they walked off their land and left the midwest in search of water, preacher Joshua Hardy is in deep despair. Has his God abandoned him? Is he partially responsible because of his obsession with Lynora, the beautiful wife of his good friend Doctor Culpepper? When it seems those remaining will also perish, they encounter Thisbe, a soothsayer. Thisbe has forseen their future. They will be saved. But, she warns, there will be a price to pay. When they arrive in this perceived paradise, the landowner one Elijah Toomey, sets his price. Agree or starve. What follows will test Joshua as never before. Has the gamble been worth the pain.