Cucumber

The stunning new novel from the author of international million-copy

bestseller Cold MountainHurtling past the downtrodden communities of

Depression-era America, painter Val Welch travels westward to the rural

town of Dawes, Wyoming. Through a stroke of luck, he's landed a New Deal

assignment to create a mural representing the region for their new Post

Office.A wealthy art lover named John Long and his wife Eve have agreed

to host Val at their sprawling ranch. Rumors and intrigue surround the

couple: Eve left behind an itinerant life riding the rails and singing

in a western swing band.

Long holds shady political aspirations,

but was once a WWI sniper-and his right hand is a mysterious elder

cowboy, a vestige of the violent old west. Val quickly finds himself

entranced by their lives.One day, Eve flees home with a valuable

painting in tow, and Long recruits Val to hit the road with a mission of

tracking her down. Journeying from ramshackle Hoovervilles to San

Francisco nightclubs to the swamps of Florida, Val's search for Eve

narrows, and he soon turns up secrets that could spark formidable

changes for all of them.