Lalita Tademy's 'Cane River' was the true story of her family's experiences of slavery and the American Civil War Now, in 'Red River', she takes readers on a new journey that of her father's family, whose experiences were more dramatic and painful still From Sam Tademy, the son of a runaway slave, and his fiercely strong wife Polly, to the father and son who witness unspeakable crimes, this is a novel of true lives which collided with history