The Serpent's Sting

When a family tragedy strikes in 1938, moonshiner Buck Watson hears God's call and takes over his father's Pentecostal church in the poverty-stricken Appalachian Mountains. He preaches a message of salvation and teaches about "the signs" mentioned in the Bible--handling venomous serpents, drinking poison and laying hands on the sick to heal--brings him notoriety and Birdie, a Cherokee healer, who he marries. After his daughter Faith is born, Buck decides she should follow him as the...
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When a family tragedy strikes in 1938, moonshiner Buck Watson hears God's call and takes over his father's Pentecostal church in the poverty-stricken Appalachian Mountains. He preaches a message of salvation and teaches about "the signs" mentioned in the Bible--handling venomous serpents, drinking poison and laying hands on the sick to heal--brings him notoriety and Birdie, a Cherokee healer, who he marries. After his daughter Faith is born, Buck decides she should follow him as the family's third generation Pentecostal preacher, eventually causing dissension within the family. A law prohibiting handling poisonous serpents in religious services lands Buck in prison. Authorities remove Faith from her brothers, Ezra and Amos and place her with a foster family near Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1978, Faith returns to her mountain home and Buck is released from prison. Nothing and no one is the same. Jealousy and hypocrisy ultimately threaten the family's existence along with the Pentecostal community.