At once a magnificent love story and a harrowing account of one man's long journey home, Cold Mountain introduces a stunning new talent in American literature.

Based on local history and family stories passed down by the author's great-great-grandfather, Cold Mountain is the tale of Inman, a wounded soldier who walks away from the ravages of the Civil War and back home to Ada, his prewar sweetheart. Inman's odyssey through the devastated landscape of the soon-to-be-defeated South interweaves with Ada's struggle to revive her father's farm with the help of a young drifter named Ruby. As their long-separated lives begin to converge at the close of the war, Inman and Ada must confront the vastly transformed world they've been delivered.