Down the Steep

"An engaging novel and a beautiful coming-of-age story." Rebecca Makkai, author of Pulitzer-finalist The Great Believers

The year is 1963 in small-town Virginia. Willa McCoy is a strong-minded teenager who longs to follow in the footsteps of her father, an important member of the KKK. Willa believes the Klan is daring and brave--like the father she idolizes. She wants only to rise in his esteem; he wants only to keep everyone in their place. When Willa is sent to babysit for the new minister's wife, Ruth Swanson, she finds herself at Ruth's kitchen table with Langston Jones, a smart young Black man. At first they despise each other, but they have one thing in common: they both love Ruth. When Langston reveals a secret he's discovered--that Willa's father is having an affair--the once-loyal daughter plots to destroy her father's reputation, unwittingly setting into motion a series of events that leads to her family's demise.