Recently widowed, Stella Rothchild is no stranger to the ghosts of the past. The move from Michigan back to her roots near Memphis, Tennessee is supposed to be about the future. Her two energetic young sons are thriving in their new school. Stella's got a great job managing the successful nursery 'In the Garden' and an interesting boss and landlady in local legend Roz Harper.

She even has a new friend in Hayley Phillips, the feisty young pregnant woman who turns up at Harper House, Stella's new home, looking for a job. More than that, Stella feels an instant attraction to In the Garden's landscaper, Logan Kitridge, who gets under her skin and makes her feel truly alive for the first time in years.

But there is someone at Harper House who isn't happy about Stella's growing feelings for Logan - the Harper Bride, an unidentified woman whose grief and rage have kept her spirit alive long past the death of her body. Love and loss broke her mind, and in her madness, she will stop at nothing to destroy the new passion that Logan and Stella have found.

Salvation on Sand Mountain offers a haunting exploration of faith, delving into the mysterious and captivating world of holiness snake handling in Southern Appalachia. The book begins with a journalistic assignment that quickly transforms into a profound journey.

Dennis Covington, a New York Times reporter, initially covers the trial of an Alabama pastor convicted of attempting to murder his wife with poisonous snakes. However, this assignment leads him deep into the heart of a world characterized by unshakable faith, where participants handle deadly snakes, drink strychnine, and perform acts of healing and resurrection.

Set against the backdrop of Appalachia, this narrative is not only a chilling account of religious extremity but also an introspective journey, as Covington finds himself drawn into the practices he set out to observe.