1927, an afternoon party in a Hollywood orange grove.  Golden sun.  Golden oranges.  The women wore dresses all the colors of flowers, yellow, pink and sky blue.  All the men were in white linen suits except for the Reverend Eli Sunday who was all in black.

There was a boy with Eli, tall and strong with dark hair and amazing cheekbones.  ( Read more... )

Plainview was on top of him, snarling.  One hand clutching Eli's collar, the other lashing across his face in stinging slaps.  First one side, then the other.  Turn the other cheek.  When Eli tried to block the blows Plainview pinned his hands, muttering obscenities.  Through it all, Eli frantically ground his hips against Plainview.  He was ( Read more... )

At first, the shaking didn’t start till he’d woken up but after a while it got to be so the shaking was what woke him up.  A trembling in his body that wouldn’t stop until he’d gulped down enough liquor to make his body obey him.  Then he could get up, make coffee, put his boots on and go out into the field.  He’d take a drink every few hours, ( Read more... )

 
1928

In a Washington D.C. hotel room the radio played a live broadcast of a sermon being preached by the evangelist Eli Sunday.

“Satan is a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour,” the preacher intoned.  “A roaring lion.  Seeking who he may devour.”

Paul Sunday, Eli’s older brother, lay on the hotel room’s narrow bed.  He was naked, ( Read more... )