John M Brewer

Rutilated quartz is believed to be a healing stone. Jack Williamson returns to his rural southern home in need of healing after a bitter divorce and losing his job. He meets Sally Townes, the girl he loved in high school until her father seriously injured him. She is also divorced and broke. They make up and begin collecting and selling crystals and gemstones from the tailings of an old gold mine. This is in partnership with Sally's Uncle Aaron, who owns the mine. But Uncle Aaron keeps the mine door locked; he seems secretive. What is he hiding?

Mike ("The Badger") Brockton graduates from high school as valedictorian, engaged, with a full scholarship to college. Then his life falls apart: his parents die and he is drafted into the Viet Nam War. Returning home injured, he is shocked to learn that his fianc e is marrying someone else. An Army buddy inadvertently entangles Mike with a drug-trafficking gang. Mike is set up for his buddy's murder but narrowly escapes with some drug money. He becomes a doctor and returns to his home town to practice. Mike meets and marries Susan. An idyllic life beckons once more. But Susan has a family secret that ensnares Mike in a fight for his life and his family.

Pittsburgh is a working city, in no small part thanks to its strong African American community.As an integral stop on the Underground Railroad, many enslaved people traveled through Pittsburgh on their way further North, and many still decided to stay. During the Great Migration of the early 20th century, Pittsburgh was again a main destination for African Americans from the rural South; approximately 95% of these men became steelworkers. There was never one centralized neighborhood where a majority of the Black population lived, but Jim Crow discrimination was still rampant, even in a city such as Pittsburgh. Photographs captured by famed Pittsburgh photographer Charles Teenie Harris show the candid experiences of residents, including the achievements and celebrations of people struggling in adversity and finding happiness in their families and community.