The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Harris, Nathan. The Sweetness of Water. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2021.

This novel takes place soon after the end of the Civil War. The Confederacy has surrendered to the Union, and Northern soldiers have begun to arrive in the South to set up provisional governments. Prentiss and Landry are two brothers who have lived their entire lives so far as slaves in the town of Old Ox, Georgia. One day, they are freed when Union soldiers arrive in Old Ox. Along with the other newly freed people, they make camp in the area and try to decide where to go. One day, Prentiss and Landry encounter a local man named George Walker. George and his wife Isabelle are white. They own land, which they have recently decided to turn into a peanut farm. George hires Prentiss and Landry as paid workers on the farm, much to the anger of the other townspeople.

George and Isabelle’s son, Caleb, was a Confederate soldier in the war. He returns home, and although he is at first wary of Prentiss and Landry, he soon begins to form a friendly rapport with them. Caleb has a secret romantic/sexual relationship with August Webler. August is the son of the town’s wealthiest resident, Wade Webler. One day, Landry accidentally observes Caleb and August while the two men are having sex in the woods. August sees Landry and kills him to keep the relationship a secret. George and Prentiss find the body. They call in the local sheriff to investigate. However, the sheriff—Lamar Hackstedde—refuses to investigate the death of a Black man. When Caleb tells Hackstede that the killer was August Webler, Hackstedde becomes even firmer in his refusal, as Hackstedde is obedient to the wealth and power of the Webler family.

Later, Wade Webler arrives at the Walkers’ home and demands an apology for the allegations against August. Prentiss observes this scene. In a fury, Prentiss spits on Wade Webler. At Wade’s direction Hackstedde arrests and imprisons Prentiss. Wade then orders for a judge to be contacted so that Prentiss can be speedily sentenced to execution. Isabelle tries to pass along some food to Prentiss in jail, as Hackstedde is purposely starving Prentiss. Hackstedde blocks Isabelle, but Isabelle manages to get the food to Prentiss with the help of a local woman named Clementine. In the night, Caleb goes to the prison with a gun and frees Prentiss. Caleb brings Prentiss back to the Walkers’ home. George then accompanies Prentiss and Caleb northward through the woods, helping them flee Old Ox. After Prentiss and Caleb escape, Wade and Hackstedde find George. Hackstedde shoots George in the leg.

Meanwhile, some townspeople set fire to the Walkers’ farm. The fire spreads and badly damages most of Old Ox. George is brought back to town, and he dies a few days alter from his wound. Isabelle decides to divide up her farmland and rent it out at fair prices to people in need of such opportunities, regardless of their race. Isabelle eventually receives a letter from Caleb, stating that Caleb and Prentiss made it to the North.