Michael Kellum

Ellis French is a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.

Exploring the many amazing and horrifying stories about land pirates and thieves along the Natchez Trace in the early 1800s, following both fictional and real life characters on an adventure along the infamous road.