"More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender's fate - whatever the cost. But nothing is ever simple in the Bobiverse. Bob's descendants are out to the 24th generation now, and replicative drift has produced individuals who can barely be considered Bobs anymore....

Hannah Ruth Tucker was born into a life of hardship and misery. Living on a failing farm along Copper Creek in rural Tennessee, she loses her two baby sisters and, in short order, her mother all to pneumonia, leaving her with a mentally challenged older brother and an alcoholic, abusive father. Then one night, she is abducted by a local trapper who has severe psychological damage and attaches his fantasies to the small child. He subjects her to deep...