- Kirkus Reviews

October 22, 1844: Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed

Not a soul wanders the streets. Businesses are boarded up. Farms have been sold. For the people of Calvary-and hundreds of thousands more across the country-the end is near.

Led by the apocalyptic prophecy of Reverend William Miller, the believers have spent the year preparing for Jesus Christ to return at sundown and bring about the rapture. All of his predictions have thus far come to pass, infallible as the Bible itself. Now, as the day approaches, William has mandated that his followers show their true dedication to the cause, no matter what the cost.

Standing against him is a single widowed farmer, Henry Smith, who will do anything it takes to protect what remains of his family from the fanaticism that is overtaking their community. He knows that he just needs to push back until the prophecy is proven false and William's grip on the town is loosened. But when that day comes, will the madness truly stop-or will Henry's world only just begin to come to an end?

***

Based on the actual historical events of The Millerite Movement and The Great Disappointment, Clouds without Water offers a harrowing account of a society beset by mass hysteria and the lone voices that cry out to stop it.