Brief

The old story of a brave woman who changed the course of American justice is discovered by Missy as she visits her sick father at the family’s old ranch. Along with Josephine’s story, Missy discovers a treasure hidden and kept for many years.

What We Liked

It is a story with a solid narrative significance that combines drama and adventure originally and uniquely. As we follow a family reconnecting on the brink of the patriarch’s death, we see a treasure hunt taking place in the same environment. The narrative still reveals the history of that place, bringing to light the story of a strong and fundamental woman for American women’s rights. Both the family and the character of Josephine have a well-defined narrative arc that is shaped according to new events. In addition to two interesting narrative lines that run in parallel, what matters most here are the strong female characters that change the universe around them.

Film: The main narrative—from family drama to treasure hunt—features an exciting plot and a thrilling mix of genres, the book could make for an entertaining and touching film, with a lovely female protagonist and a breathtaking setting.

TV: Since the book has extensive content, and the story is told in two different narrative lines, at different times, with different tones and characters, adapting it to TV would be a good choice. The story has an exciting plot, but the female characters are the highlight of this novel that would make for an interesting character-driven series.

Key points:
- Excellent female protagonists
- An interesting mix of genres
- An engaging backstory that is slowly revealed
- Defined arcs that end satisfactorily
- A historical narrative that supports and completes the main story

Synopsis

Missy travels to her family’;s ranch in the countryside to spend time with her sick father. Arriving there, she meets Marion, her father’s caretaker, who informs her that he only has a few weeks left. While she takes care of the ranch herself, her father tells her old stories about the region. She learns of the story of Josephine, an indigenous woman who was given to a white man, George, by her father in exchange for a piece of land. George was extremely abusive and sexually perverted towards her, causing young Josephine to shut up in his presence and accept her fate. Meanwhile, George starts trying different types of business in the city, including a search for gold that starts to become a buzz in the surroundings. He discovers the right place to find gold and acts with violence with those he intends to take advantage of the area. When the priest realizes the harm that George, who has always been drunk, has done to Josephine, he decides to send her to a college on the pretext of educating her and teaching her the laws of God. The husband sees no alternative but to accept. They spend three years away. When Josephine returns, she tries to hide from George, but he tricks her into marrying her in church, under God’s laws. The priest and her family accept, and Josephine returns to George’s control. He treats her well at first, but as soon as she becomes pregnant with her first child, he becomes violent and sadistic again as before. Missy continues to hear stories from her father, interacting daily with him, and decides to invite her older brother to join them. The brother is distant from the family and a bit of a charlatan, and he has a self-seeking wife, which the family dislikes. As they are being evicted from home, Missy’s brother and his wife realize that going to the ranch would be perfect timing. The initial encounter seems a little hostile, but they all end up reconnecting as one big family again over time. Meanwhile, Missy learns a little more about her mother and her father’s old affair with Marion. Missy also finds a letter that tells about an ancient treasure hidden in the region. She desires to go after it.

We return to the story of Josephine, who begins to take gold coins hidden from her husband to ensure a promising future for her children. He is increasingly drunk, perverted, and violent, hanging out with prostitutes and disrespecting Josephine. Until one day, when Josephine’s sister’s husband, and George’s enemy, is found dead, and she mourns his death at her sister’s side. Jealous to see his wife crying over another man’s death, he takes off on horseback after her. To defend herself and her daughter, Josephine kills him. The police proceed to investigate the crime, and they come to her. She tells the whole truth about the dozens of times she’s had her nose broken or her face bruised by him. In an unprecedented court decision, a wife is not seen guilty of her husband’s death because she acted in self-defense. She lives a comfortable life on George’s pension and his stolen gold and has a good life with her children from then on.

Missy, on the other hand, is getting closer to her plan to find the treasure, but Marion warns her of the need to hand the money over to the government if she finds anything. They decide to hire an archeologist who will pretend to be on the hunt for important archaeological pieces to avoid handing over the gold to the government. After a few tries, she finds a box and takes it to her dad, so he can slowly open the box, showing the glitter of a coin inside.

About The Author

Matsie Non is a writer from the Western USA who likes to portray strong and potent historical women as her story’s leads.