Coming of the Hurricane

THE STORY: Reconstruction. Upon the still smoldering ground ravaged by the Civil War stands Crixus, fabled survivor of countless boxing matches-to-the-death during slavery. Now middle-ageD and a newly freed man, Crixus works as a store clerk in a small general store in Maryland, but he faces an uncertain future, unprepared for a life of freedom and haunted by restless phantoms of his past. Crixus desires only to provide as best he can for his young wife, Kazarah, who is close to delivering their first child. Crixus' inarticulateness concerning his feelings towards Kazarah threatens to drive her into the arms of Cayman, a dashing immigrant Jamaican boxer, who is younger and more prosperous. Cayman is on the eve of challenging John the Hurricane Blaine to a bare knuckle boxing match. The Hurricane is an ex-confederate soldier who has sworn to retrace the paths of famous battles of the Civil War fighting against opponents at the battle sites themselves. The projected fight between Cayman and the Hurricane is delayed enabling Cayman to challenge Crixus to a match. Crixus refuses at first but is ultimately swayed by pressure from Kazarah, who believes the money from fighting will do wonders for the future of their child. Crixus accepts, not knowing Cayman intends to throw the fight and make a killing on bets at the contest. The fight goes on as planned, and Crixus wins. His future looks bright as he is able to buy the store where he works, but soon the store is burned to the ground by vandals. An enraged Crixus sells himself for money to challenge the Hurricane to a fight at Antietam with everything at stake.Glover, Keith is the author of 'Coming of the Hurricane ' with ISBN 9780822214908 and ISBN 0822214903.