Ruth Yancey was only a small child the first time she saw Fox's Earth, a magnificent three-storied Georgia house that was home to the privileged Fox family. The daughter of a mean, poor mill worker, Ruth vowed that someday she would not only live in such a house, but rule it as her own.

Years later, becoming Ruth Yancey Fox, she does. For decades she will dominate Fox’s Earth and its inhabitants with evil manipulation, cruelty, and lies. Until eventually, even she realizes that her secrets will have to come out....