
In this story based on true events, sixteen-year-old Eva and her female friends become obsessed with a charismatic young man who comes to Corvallis, Oregon, in 1904, claiming to be a Christian prophet.

How could such a thing happen in Corvallis, of all places'....As if nine Christian churches must certainly be enough to save a mere two thousand souls from such doings. As if tidy picked fences alone could keep the female population contentedly at home. As if lacing us tightly...


In our defense, I can say only that nothing seemed so terribly strange in the beginning... When, in 1903, the fiery preacher Joshua arrives in sleepy Corvallis, Oregon, Eva Mae -- and the whole town -- is never the same again. Joshua is wonderful. He's charismatic. Insisting...