This is the gripping story of two brothers struggling against each other and the confines of their 1920s Appalachian Mountain World.
The Powell brothers are as different as Cain and Abel. Muir is a shy seventeen year old with big dreams and not the slightest idea of what to do about them. Moody, the older and wilder brother - embittered by the death of his father, by the years of fighting his mother, and by his jealousy of Muir's privileged place in the family - takes to moonshine and gambling and turns his anger on his brother.
Muir escapes by wandering, making his way around the country in attempts to find something - an occupation, a calling. Through it all, their mother, Ginny, tries to steer her boys right, all the while remembering her own losses.
When Muir, in a drunk vision, discovers his life's purpose, the consequences are far-reaching and irrevocable. All that's left in the aftermath are the ghosts and the memories of a new man.
'This Rock' is Robert Morgan's most ambitious and accomplished novel yet.
