Dogwood Springs is a typical Southern town nestled in a valley alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway in southwest Virginia. Life had been good for its 5,000 residents, especially after the Bobcats won the state high school football championship in 1973 behind its "famous five" all-state players. But like many towns that depended on a textile mill and furniture factory for employment, life takes a downturn in the last quarter of the twentieth century as mills and factories are closed and jobs are shipped off to the "deep South" and Southeast Asia. Workers can no longer meet mortgage payments and foreclosures plunge Dogwood Springs into a deep depression. The homeless population spikes upward and a tent city emerges in the heart of downtown. Greed, political corruption, and a growing drug culture combine to wreck a once-proud and bucolic setting. Yet, the famous five men return for their class reunion with the skills and abilities to change thinking and create a paradigm shift that will rejuvenate their community. In a rich blend of social history, drama, love, passion and determination, Ellis delivers a powerful page-turner about the struggles and perseverance to overcome all odds.

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