Deeply wounded by her embittered mother's lack of sympathy for her aspirations, Elnora finds comfort in the nearby Limberlost Swamp, whose beauty and rich abundance provide her with the means to better her life.

"A swampy literary horror novel about a young woman facing down drug dealers, a crooked cop, and a mad preacher on the banks of an Arkansas river"--

"When his dad disappears, thirteen-year-old Cort is caught in a battle against a Gulf Coast hurricane. Cort's father is a local expert on hunting and swamp lore lower Alabama and has been teaching his son everything he knows. But when a deadly Category 3 storm makes landfall, Cort must unexpectedly put all his skills - and bravery - to the test. One catastrophe seems to lead to another, leaving Cort and two neighbor girls to face the storm as best...

Dixie Lee brings home an alligator, a snake, and an owl as pets to protect her family from such spooky creatures as the churn-turners, the bogeyman, and the mist-sisters.