In "Virtuos," the author C.E. Morgan tells the story of the people who carry the legacy of American history within them, creating a grand modern epic reminiscent of Faulkner. Henry Forge and his daughter Henrietta have a dream: they want to breed the greatest racehorse of all time. The Forge family is one of the oldest and most influential horse-breeding dynasties in Kentucky, and their thoroughbred Hellsmouth has excellent potential. However, when Allmon Shaughnessy, an ambitious young Black man, comes to work on the farm and Henrietta falls in love with him, forces are unleashed that have shaped life in the South for centuries and remain powerful to this day. Fear, prejudice, sexual desire, racism, and anger, the divide between rich and poor, oppression, and even violence are the constant companions of this life in the shadow of history.