Open Country (2010) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters edit see section history

• Patrick Henry "Hank" Wilkins: (Hero) looks like bear, great size, hairy; beard, work-worn hands; assessing stare, concealing beard ,dark brown eyes, powerful man, heavy shoulders, muscular arms, high, broad forehead indicated intelligence, strong limbs proof of years of strenuous labor, abundant white teeth, a fit, clean-living man, sun-darkened skins on arms and face, scar on wrist, soft sable brown hair, strikingly handsome, warm chocolate brown eyes, 33-y-o, 3 years younger than Brady, shy, doesn't trust women, grew beard because women chased after him, hard headed, guarded his emotions, intense concentration, the steady one, ran mining business, not a talker, reticent, markedly precise when numbers were involved, magical touch for fixing things, gentling horses, didn't lie, manipulate, coddle, insatiable curiosity about how things work, dismantles anything can get hands on, "so vibrantly alive he seemed to fill the room with his energy", "He always seemed to be watching, assessing, observing, but gave little indication of what he thought", sharply analytical mind, had protective streak, particularly to smaller, weaker, Daltonism (red-green color blindness), the calm one, the steady one
• Molly McFarlane: (Heroine) from Atlanta, nurse, years of medical training at her father's side, years of being invisible, no experience with children, sable brown hair, sound of South in rolling cadence, spent life traveling with father, poor liar, trained at her father's side since 13-y-o, lost mother when 13, no beaus, no girlish chatter, no party dresses, had no idea how a man's mind worked, throws up after surgery, small, long legs, trim through waist, lot of shiny sorrel-colored hair that tended more towards brown than chestnut, kind eyes, hazel eyes with a green cast, intelligence shimmered in her pale face, pretty face, strong cheekbones, deep-set eyes, determined chin, stern mouth if not for the crescent-shaped scar at the outer right corner top lip, softening the angles of her face, slipped behind mask of cool efficiency, smelled of lemons, hard headed, formidable temper, awkward, too serious, less than opulent bosom, 26-y-o, witty, earnest, gently rounded bosoms, smirky smile, healing touch, forgiving spirit, independent, did not ask for help, bold one moment, blushing the next, smarter, more headstrong, more complicated than any woman Hank knew, far too self-relianta trained medical professional
• Adeline: name Jessica picked for a girl , Jessica's mother's name
• Paco Alvarez: Brady gave him a choice between hanging himself or enduring slow dismemberment
• Dr. Solomon Andrews: (Actual Historical Character) designed steerable airship, Aereon
• Effie Beckworth: Thaddeus's wife, waiting at El Paso train station to aid passengers, loved a good, rousing crisis, married 32 years, meddling ways, kind and gentle heart, multiple chins, nice-rounded chest, no children, energetic, a smile that would make any God-fearing man sweat
• Reverend Thaddeus Beckworth: Effie's husband, waiting at El Paso train station to aid passengers, wore spectacles, struggled to avoid conflict, married 32 years, loved Effie
• Agnes Beecham: El Paso, hired to clean Hank, sturdily built, middle aged, nickname: Bunny, beefy hands, beefier hips
• Bishop: Wilkins ranch hand, followed Hank, Charlie to jail
• Franklin Blake: reputation for shady deals and brutality towards his workers, wanted to buy Wilkins' mine
• Buck: Iantha's husband, runaway slave, had been with Wilkins family over 20 years, gifted carpenter until rheumatism crippled his hands, read clouds way a cartographer read maps
• Buddy: (Animal) dog, pitiful little thing, half-starved stray, lame front foot, attitude every bit as defensive as Charlie's, unblinking black eyes
• Martha Burnett: white oval face, slouch hat, younger than Molly, pretty in buxom, overblown way, quite a talker, prostitute, knowledge behind her blue eyes
• Charlie: Molly's 8-y-o nephew, lost grandfather, father, looked small, lost, too knowing for his age, lost so much, trusted no one, auburn hair, woke screaming with night terrors, had mom's face, auburn curls and wide green eyes, wiry body, dark auburn curls, square set of skinny shoulders
• Elmer Clements: (Actual Historical Character) looking for way to deliver gas to battlefield or into food and water supply
• Consuelo: Mexican housekeeper, 50s, kind face, lovely eyes, missing teeth kept her from looking bonnie, widow
• Ezra Cooper: ran Redemption livery stable
• Curly: Wilkins ranch hand, followed Hank, Charlie to jail
• Jeff Davis: (Actual Historical Character) allowed McCullough to carry out highly questionable and unethical experiments
• Dougal: from Scotland, did little but argue with Brady, sleep sprawled out on couches and harass the children, bushy eyebrows, contentious nature, more hair in ears than on his head, a soldier for years
• John Doughty: (Actual Historical Character) schoolteacher trying to devise way to put chlorine gas into artillery shells
• Droop: (Animal) Langley's horse, a trail-wise old gelding
• Enrique Escobar: Wilkins ranch hand, guarding barn
• Daniel Fletcher: Molly's brother-in-law, Nellie's second husband, elegant home in Savannah, usually fastidious, weak, bully, shifty gaze, not a stupid man, known Confederate sympathizer
• Angus Foley: deputy U.S. marshal from the area, quiet type, quiet hands, sideburns that came around to join his bushy mustache, dark unblinking eyes that took in everything but gave nothing back, a hard-lined lawman with heart of stone, gravely voice of tobacco user, predator eyes, would run roughshod over anyone who got in his path, worse than Brady for having to be in control
• Lupe Garcia: Maria's sister, looked after the Wilkins children
• Maria Garcia: Lupe's sister, looked after the Wilkins children
• Pilar Garcia: cousin to Lupe and Maria, hired to be wet nurse to new twins
• Mr. Gruber: owned Gruber's Fix-It, wiry little man, shiny bald head, startling black eyebrows, half spectacles, look of man impatient man who didn't tolerate interruptions
• Mr. Harkness: railroad representative, solicitor
• Billy Hartnet: Molly had to amputate leg, died anyway, 14-y-o, delivered messages to miners
• Heather: name Jessica picked for a girl
• Helen: owner of Helen's Haberdashery, middle-aged matron, improbably dark hair
• Hench: Wilkins ranch hand, found Molly's tracks to west
• Gordon Hennessey: the villain, loved puzzles, wanted the children, damaged face, puckered burn scar that covered left side of his face from hat to chin, aura of evil about him, cadaverously thin, moved with sensuous hip-rolling gait, when spoke, gestured in an exaggerated way, voice was a lisping hiss, a wrongness about him that went deeper than the scar, elegant, almost feminine hands, narrow hips, eyes as dark and empty as an abandoned well, breathe stank of cloves, his mom set his hair on fire, ropy web of puckered scar tissue that rose in wine-colored ridges across ruined scalp, crooked yellow teeth, beyond madness, less than human, a monster, an animal, never stops
• Hillsboro: Redemption, had stable of girls
• Iantha: ancient Negro woman, supervised the kitchen, Buck's wife, runaway slave, had been with Wilkins family over 20 years
• Mr. Jones: from Washington City in the District of Columbia, well-spoken man of middle years, sound of education in his voice, sharp hazel eyes, a banker's smile, a haircut that left most of his ears exposed, left ear had a chuck missing in the shape of a bullet hole
• Maude Kinderly: Melanie's mother, no love for the Wilkins family, died of smallpox outbreak at fort, a vicious woman at best
• Melanie Kinderly: the one woman Hank tried to court, blonde, pretty, petite, Hank hadn't seen in 2 years, round-cheeked face, wispy blond hair, soft gray eyes, breathy childlike voice, husband died of small pox, like a small child in temperament and intellect, a cloying need to please, overworked imagination, fantasy quality that shielded her from reality, "life a dime novel adventure to her", baby stillborn, a lovely girl, utterly cowed by her mother, no match for Hank's sharp mind
• Henry Kirkland: (Actual Historical Character) looking for way to deliver gas to battlefield or into food and water supply
• Carl Langley: one of Wilkins' most reliable hands, a good man in a crisis, went to Val Rosa with Hank and Charlie
• Amos Logan: one of the younger RosaRoja hands, fighting with Charlie in barn, afraid of dogs, around 14-y-o, big for his age, gangly, thatch of wheat-colored hair, chipped front tooth, no meanness in him
• Professor McCullough: The Professor, member of rebellion, a chemist, a Lincoln Conspirator, developed potent poison gas, Matthew McFarlane knew him
• Matthew McFarlane: Molly's father, doctor, man of integrity, died one month ago, brilliant surgeon, supposedly committed suicide, energetic, flamboyant, charismatic, shoes didn't match, vest buttoned crooked, a genius, hair needed a trim, traveled a great deal, studied under different surgeons, political beliefs were characterized less by societal ideals than a general dislike of governmental interference, Charlie called him "mappa", focused, "Medicine was everything to him"
• Miley: Wilkins ranch hand, found Molly's tracks to west
• Dr. Murray: El Paso physician, infirmary on Front Street, gaunt, middle-aged, wore black leather patch over right eye, less hair on head than chin, mostly gray stubble, slim wrists, narrow, long-fingered hands, short trimmed nails, sad eyes, more gray than blue, tangle of troubled emotions, sampled own medications, no sympathy, no interest, no emotion whatsoever, air of defeat, operated at Fredericksburg
• Nellie: Molly's older sister, lung fever, married Daniel on rebound when first husband died, mere shadow of lovely woman she had once been, unhealthy pallor, green eyes bright with fever, lank auburn hair
• Doc O'Grady: Val Rosa doctor, Irishman, more drinker than doctor
• Grandmother Oona: ex-slave, gift with infants, hired to care for new twins
• Paul: Melanie's husband, died of smallpox outbreak at Fort, Melanie's father's adjunct
• Penny: Molly's niece, 6-y-o, lost grandfather and father, flyaway blond hair, cinnamon brown eyes, talker, allergic to catsMolly's six-year old niece
• Don Roman Ramirez: originally owned RosaRoja Rancho, too proud of Spanish heritage to refile patent on ranch because Hidalgo Treaty proposed by Mexican government
• Elena Ramirez: recovering from surgery, Sancho's sister, daughter to previous owner of ranch, went to California to have her hip operated on
• Sancho Ramirez: Elena's brother, son of previous owner of ranch, burned rose bushes and ranch to ground 30 years after birth, killed lot of people, tortured Sam, killed own parents, killed by Jessica
• Sheriff Rikker: sheriff in Val Rosa since time of feud between Wilkins and Ramirez, a loner who held his thoughts close, Brady called him a "quiet seeker"
• Edward Rustin: lived in Jeanerette, sat in wheeled chair, glue that held men together, using gold stolen from Confederate coffers 10-y-a to foment a rebellion, bloated hands, blind milky eyes, kidneys failing fast, palsied fingers, leader of known Confederate sympathizers
• Anna Strobel: plump arms, wispy gray hair, thick accent of some Central European country, Hans wife, watery blue eyes
• Ben (Thornton): Brady's "son by intent, if not blood", 2-y-o, redheaded terror like his mother, wild, took after Jessica, dark auburn hair, intelligent brown eyes, Brady's temperament, boisterous, stubborn, fearless
• Victoria (Thornton): Ben's twin, stillborn
• Tiger: (Animal) yellow kitten Hank gave to Penny for Christmas
• Judge Clement Utley: circuit judge in the Val Rosa area, small thin fellow, bald dome, gunmetal blue eyes that reflected the disillusion weary look of man who saw more than he wanted to, reputation for quick judgments and harsh sentences, strict abolitionist with a deep hatred of anything south of the Mason-Dixon Line
• Eldon Whittaker: Rikker's deputy, intellect of a radish, gun skills so poor, Rikker didn't issue him bullets, blond hair
• Abigail "Abby" Wilkins: breech birth, Brady and Jessica's daughter, already a beauty, mother's ready smile, father' s striking eyes and dark hair
• Andrew Jackson "Jack" Wilkins: (Hero of Book 3) Hank's brother, followed Elena to California, Brady hasn't heard from him
• Brady Wilkins: (Hero of Book 1) Hank's brother, nearly as tall as Hank, leaner, weathered skin, dark stubble, couldn't see mouth beneath black moustache, icy blue eyes, purely masculine assessment, beautiful eyes in a hard face, not as handsome as Hank, but arresting, family resemblance in strong jaw, stubborn chin and high, intelligent forehead, eyes of glacial ice, ruthless, protective, driven, blue eyes, volatile, rough-speaking man, vitally male, more complex than most men, smile that rocked her back on her heels, white teeth, dimples, dancing aqua eyes, changeable as quicksilver, arrogant, tall, lean, black hair and mustache, big toothy grin, full of mischief, size and manner could be intimidating, oversaw ranching and cattle interests, oddest sense of humor, loved land, habit of sticking his nose in where didn't belong, likes to manage people, named after Grandpa Brady (mother's father), belligerent stance, a "see it, do it, worry about it later" type of guy
• Jessica (Thornton) Wilkins: (Heroine of Book 1) Brady's wife, third pregnancy, good breeder, prim, English, inability to follow orders an endearing trait to Brady, "Her Ladyship", English, crazy hats, English accent, striking, amber brown eyes, feminine, gracious, striking, exceptionally tall, regal, curly red-gold hair, wide, intelligent eyes, smile that rivaled Brady's, crying turned nose red, skin splotchy, a force of nature, all starch and fancy hats, lots of rules, steel wrapped in velvet, draped with a smile
• Samuel "Sam" Adams Wilkins: Hank's youngest brother, buried on RosaRoja, tortured by Sancho and left to die in desert, 12-y-o when died
• Samuel Thornton Wilkins: Brady and Jessica's newborn son, first twin, "Sam", Samuel (for Brady's brother) Thornton (Jessica's family name)
• Thomas Jefferson Wilkins: Brady and Jessica's newborn son, second twin son, "TJ"

Quotes edit see section history

• “She felt hopelessly inept in social situations. She had no flair, no interest in small talk, and no inclination to flirt. Most Southern women burst from the womb with all the correct phrases and mannerisms etched into their memories. They knew instinctively how to coo, and bat their eyelashes, and flit through life like dainty butterflies. And what they weren't born knowing, they were taught by their mothers.”

  Molly

• “When he had something to say, he spoke. When he didn't, he didn't.”

  Molly, about Hank

• “he was noticing her noticing him”

  Molly

• “"I don't know what to do with you, wife," . . . "But maybe next time, you'll take off the robe and we'll find out."”

  Hank

• “I need a friend. A woman friend. They add so much to one's life, don't you think?”

  Jessica

• “I've found the only way to keep him from trying to take control of my life is to tell him nothing about it.”

  Hank

• “Somewhere in her mind she stood on a hilltop and screamed.”

  Molly

• “He needed this woman, he realized. He needed her to ease the loneliness, to laugh with, to turn to when doubt plagued him. He needed her the way he needed his next breath. And he needed her to need him that way too.”

  Hank

• “It wasn't that he minded talking, but sometimes all those words interfered with productive thinking.”

  Hank

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• RosaRoja Rancho
• Savannah
• Atlanta
• Utah
• England
• California
• Andersonville

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Pieces of Sky, and followed by Chasing the Sun.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Kaki Warner (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Mild Sexual Content

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Romance › Historical › United States
• Books › Literature & Fiction

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history