In their little cabin set in the shadow of a deep cove, Laurel Shelton and her brother Hank have built a home. The locals whisper about the cove being cursed and perhaps it is: good fortune rarely seems to wind its way down the long overgrown trail that leads to their clearing in the woods. One day the course of both their lives seems altered when Laurel happens upon a stranger hiding among the trees. With only a simple haversack of worldly belongings, the alluring and mysterious Walter is soon drawn in to life in the cove, helping Hank on the farm and bringing Laurel the only real comfort she has ever known. But as soon as the dark cloud hanging over the cove finally begins to lift, a secret is uncovered that threatens to shatter their newly found happiness. As their neighbours begin to stoke a fire of rage against the cove and its inhabitants, Laurel, Hank and Walter come to understand the terrible danger they are in ...A breathtaking, lyrical novel with a profoundly moving love story at its heart, The Cove confirms Ron Rash as a masterful novelist at the height of his powers.