Serena, by Ron Rash is a tale of greed and the thoughtless pursuit of power.  This historical novel is set in the early 1930's in the North Carolina mountains.  The main characters are George and Serena Pemberton, just married, who have traveled from Boston to North Carolina in order to create a timber empire. Their goal is to cut every tree in North Carolina and then move on to Brazil and do the same.

When Ron Rash started writing Serena, he pictured a woman on a horse on a ridge.  His image showed her as strong, a woman who created her own law, self-centered, and tougher than Lady Macbeth.  She would have no remorse. George Pemberton is also a strong character with one weakness, his illegitimate child.  The two set out to destroy all who get in the way of creating their empire.  Serena's only true competition is Rachel Harmon, a young woman from the North Carolina mountains and the mother of George Pemberton's child.  When Serena realizes she cannot have a child of her own and that George is protecting his illegitimate family, she sets out to destroy Rachel, her child, and George.

Serena is Ron Rash's fourth novel.  His works are focused on the Appalachian Mountains and environmental causes.  He is a faculty member at Western Carolina University and holds the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies. His family has lived in the Appalachian Mountains since the mid-1700's.