Josh, a recently orphaned teenager, has decided to hitchhike to Texas, where he is to live with an aunt. Beaten, robbed, and left by a remote roadside, he is found and taken to a Melungeon village. These people live in the Appalachian Mountains in ways that reflect life of a hundred years ago, and they seem to be shielded from the world that persecuted them by a spell that will not let anyone leave. Only when Josh has proved that he can be trusted with their secrets is he given a way out.
The Melungeons do actually exist - the descendants of a colony that predates Jamestown. A fascinating tale - and one that opens new understandings of American history.
