Mercy — Susan Sims Moody

Davis Sanford, contemptuously dismissed by his family almost a decade ago, is a recovering alcoholic and the grandchild of local timber baron and pillar of the community, Frank Sanford. An early-morning phone call from his old haunt of Mercy draws Davis home once more for the impending death of the family patriarch. Jennifer Martin returns to the scene as Davis's girlfriend, and the two embark on a weekend journey through his past.

As the prodigal son copes with his grandfather's mortality, he must also face his disapproving father and a wealth of personal history he has tried for years to leave behind. Together with Jennifer he uncovers one family secret after another, at last discovering the sin that has shaped, conflicted, and ultimately driven them all to the tragic existences they lead.