Tom Maloney, also known to the citizens of Harmony, North Carolina as "Preacher," is the young first-person narrator of this thought-provoking novel. Although Tom has been serving as the town's Methodist minister for only two months when the story begins, it's clear that he is the wrong man for the job. It's not that Tom is not a man of faith (although, as the story progresses, he begins to have doubts); it's that he has an inclusive outlook that is out of step with the Bible-belt community where he lives and works. This novel is packed with important issues: homophobia, racial bigotry, hypocrisy, spousal abuse, suicide, patricide, secularism, and biblical authority. Dangers also abound, such as a storm that forces Tom and his girlfriend to abandon their fishing boat and plunge into shark-infested waters, food poisoning run amok during the annual potluck, and hurricane-season weather, which marches into the endgame of the novel as an "act of God." As rich as this novel is in ideas, it is also funny, sexy, plot-driven, and page-turning. Tom eventually takes a hard second look at his adopted hometown, his chosen profession, and even his lifelong faith commitments. His ties severed, Tom's future may be uncertain, but crisis has brought a choice and a change.
