In the midst of the Great Depression in tiny Roxboro, Alabama, Sara and her son, Sam, struggle to make ends meet within a community where Christian values are preached but rarely practiced. The county's wealthiest and most influential citizen, Milton Marion, is bent on ruining Sara's life and wrestling Sam away from her. But as the story unfolds, a defiant farmer and his son, an unsatisfied redemption-seeking sheriff, and a Negro bootlegger risk everything to help her find love and family and show Milton Marion he does not hold all the cards. The compelling story follows the single mother and her young son from their time living in a small shack through a series of unthinkable events that change their lives forever. Where the Cotton Once Grew is a beautifully crafted tale of hope and sacrifice that utilizes a dynamic and colorful cast of characters to take its readers on a memorable journey through familiar emotions and foreign circumstances during a time when life was simpler but living was harder.