Meet four generations of the Duvalier family, for whom sugar cane is both their blessing and their curse. From patriarch Carter, the victim of an exploding manhole cover before our story begins, and his indomitable holy-roller wife Lily, to their dysfunctional sons Winston and Steven, and their equally screwed-up grandchildren, the Duvaliers - both dead and alive - would do anything to keep their secrets hidden. With their world blown apart by the winds of Katrina, the tangled lives of these unforgettable characters create a novel of unimaginable beauty, dark humor, and terrible tragedy.