Simple life in small-town America collides with the cultural realities of the 1980s in Spite the Devil, a novel of conflict and hope. Elinor and her husband, Dan, a Lutheran minister, confront racism and religious uncertainty as they deal with the changes that life brings to their faith. Does tragedy destroy faith? Is bitterness inevitable? Their comfortable existence explodes when the turmoil of modern American life invades Evittsburg and forces them to face new and painful truths. Racial tensions strain relationships to the breaking point, and religious differences threaten to tear families apart. Elinor's whimsical perspective cushions misfortune until she faces the one blow that even humor cannot soften. Daughters Grace and Joy pursue their own paths, coloring their parents' lives with laughter and discord. Grace's interracial marriage to Doug creates disturbing tensions, which involve Doug's enigmatic father, Robey, and their teenage son, Gil, Golden Gil, who dances across the pages with wit and a worrisome innocence. With insight, humor, and compassion, McDaniel builds genuine suspense to a shattering climax, and then finds a certain peace in the conviction that death is not the end.

Simple life in small-town America collides with the cultural realities of the 1980s in Spite the Devil, a novel of conflict and hope. Elinor and her husband, Dan, a Lutheran minister, confront racism and religious uncertainty as they deal with the changes that life brings to their faith. Does tragedy destroy faith? Is bitterness inevitable? Their comfortable existence explodes when the turmoil of modern American life invades Evittsburg and forces them to face new and painful truths. Racial tensions strain relationships to the breaking point, and religious differences threaten to tear families apart. Elinor's whimsical perspective cushions misfortune until she faces the one blow that even humor cannot soften. Daughters Grace and Joy pursue their own paths, coloring their parents' lives with laughter and discord. Grace's interracial marriage to Doug creates disturbing tensions, which involve Doug's enigmatic father, Robey, and their teenage son, Gil, Golden Gil, who dances across the pages with wit and a worrisome innocence. With insight, humor, and compassion, McDaniel builds genuine suspense to a shattering climax, and then finds a certain peace in the conviction that death is not the end.