The Gift (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780881459012)

After New Jersey transplant Bobby Hawkins marries Susannah, the daughter of a leading South Carolina family, they battle infertility, the challenges of plantation life, and a devastating flood. To keep the plantation afloat, Bobby begins impregnating slave women for sale. Their finances gradually get back on track. But after their son is born, Susannah is unable to breastfeed the sickly infant. When her husband "gifts" her a wet nurse, they descend into violence, jealousy and rage.