In antebellum Charleston, a Catholic priest grapples with doubt, his family's secret African ancestry, and his love for a slaveholder's wife. Joseph Lazare and his two sisters grow up believing their black hair and olive skin come from a Spanish grandmother-until the summer they learn she was an enslaved African. While his sisters make very different choices, Joseph struggles to transcend the flesh by becoming a celibate priest. Then young Father Joseph meets Tessa Conley, a devout Irish immigrant who shares his passions for music and botany. Joseph must conceal his true feelings as Tessa marries another man-a plantation owner who treats her like property. Acting on their love will ruin Joseph and Tessa in this world and damn them in the next. Can two broken people heal each other and find heaven on earth-or will there be hell to pay? Necessary Sins is the first book in the epic Lazare Family Saga quartet. If you like character-rich dramas, vivid period detail, and heart-wrenching choices, then you'll be swept away by this page-turning series, perfect for fans of The Thorn Birds and Outlander.