THE SWEETNESS OF WATER

Nathan Harris (Hachette, $32.99)

In the dying days of the American civil war, newly freed brothers Landry and Prentiss find themselves without a penny to their names. Forced to hide out in the woods near their former Georgia plantation, they’re soon discovered by the land’s owner, George Walker. When the brothers begin work on George’s farm, trust and union begin to blossom between the strangers. But this sanctuary survives on a knife’s edge, as the local township reacts with fury.