lives of brothers, Damion and Travi Face, two teenagers living in a small Kentucky town.
The story is set in the fall of Travis' senior year of high school. Travis finds himself increasingly torn between his dream of escaping from his stifling, violent roots, and his devotion to Damion's upbringing. Yet, it is through a school program where the brothers meet Lincoln Calloway, a nine-year-old African American, who is also the victim of an abusive home, that Travis ultimately discovers his answer, and Damion ultimately discovers himself.
Vowing to help their young friend, the brothers are met head-on by Lincoln's father, a well-healed local politician, who, along with his live-in girlfriend, embraces the evils of witchcraft almost as much as the evils of misguided power. In fact, it is the collision with this formidable mix that provides the underpinnings for the book's dramatic conclusion, a conclusion that embodies sacrifice, but offers salvation.
Below is a sample from one of the compelling chapters:
Looking at Damion, so deep in sleep, I thought of my mother, lying on display in Vincent's Funeral Parlor. I hated those couple days, hated sharing her in death with others, hated the concept that I'd never talk to her, or feel her touch, again. In the long black car we took to the cemetery, I couldn't take my eyes off the box sitting in the rear, unable to come to grips with the concept that my mom was about to be put into the ground forever. But I held back the tears, thinking she had already risen to the stars, where I'd always be able to see her twinkling.
At the graveyard, I stood between Damion and my father. I longed for my daddy to put his arm around me and give me some words, some assurance, something to heal the wound that was cutting through my insides. But he was already shutting us out, withdrawing into the bitter wasteland where he would roam in the years to come. Next to me, Damion stood in a little old black suit, his face confused, his eyes wandering for someone to explain all these strange events. As the box holding my mom hung over the hole in the ground, a chilly wind blew through me and I could almost feel my father being sucked away. So I put my arm around Damion, pulled him close, and said to him, "Damie, don't you worry. I'll take care of you. It's gonna be all right." And he turned to me, a little tear in his eye, and gave me that crooked smile of his...and just like that, our hearts bonded together... forever.
The box was lowered and my father abruptly turned away, as if we weren't even there. So I whispered to Damion, "Say good night to your momma," and then I took hold of his hand and we walked back to the car together. The car door closed and we began to drive away from far more than my young mind could totally comprehend. At that moment, part of me already knew, even more than taught by the scriptures, that I truly was my brother's keeper.