George Pemberton Timeline & Summary

•  Back
• More 

• Before the book even begins, Pemberton has a tryst with one of his workers named Rachel then runs off to Boston and gets hitched to a gal named Serena.
• They get back to North Carolina where Rachel and her dad are waiting for them on the platform, complete with a baby in Rachel's belly.
• Serena calmly encourages her new husband to a duel with Rachel's dad.
• After Pemberton wins the duel (and kills Harmon), Serena grabs the knife, gives it to Rachel, and tells her to stay the heck away from them.
• They go to their property where Serena makes a few changes to the work the men are doing. Pemberton introduces his wife to everyone and is proud of her brains and beauty.
• Always looking for a new solution to problems, Serena buys an eagle and trains it to kill rattlesnakes; Pemberton is impressed with her skill and discipline.
• When Serena gets tired of listening to Pemberton's business partners, Buchanan and Wilkie exclude her from decisions; Pemberton kills Buchanan and stiffs Wilkie on the price of the land.
• Next on the to-do list? Finding new business partners. Serena and Pemberton meet with Harris and make a deal with him for new land.
• The Pembertons are hounded by the Secretary of the Interior to sell their land to make a national park but they refuse.
• Serena gets pregnant and is excited to give Pemberton an heir. Pemberton wants her to take it easy, but she doesn't think that's necessary.
• Things go from bad to worse when she miscarries and almost dies as a result. She can never have children again.
• After Pemberton and Galloway get rid of the doc who caused Serena's miscarriage (in their minds), things go back to normal.
• Serena decides that she'd like to try her hand at the timber business in Brazil. She's sick of being in North Carolina, and they're pretty much done harvesting most of the trees there anyhow. Pemberton is up for an adventure and agrees to it.
• They sell their land to the government and find investors to back the Brazil plan.
• Meanwhile, Serena doesn't like the idea of another woman running around town with her husband's baby so she tries to kill Rachel and Jacob.
• Luckily, Sheriff McDowell helps Rachel and Jacob escape, which infuriates Serena more.
• When Serena learns that her hubby gave his son and Rachel some travel money to flee, she is livid.
• Galloway and Pemberton head up to the mountains to go hunting. There, Galloway feeds Pemberton a sandwich with rat poison that Serena made for him.
• Pemberton is shocked as Galloway explains that Serena didn't want to be with him anymore after he saved his son's life.
• As he dies, Pemberton thinks of Serena.