Mississippi, 1963. Essie Lee Lane is a small-town girl from a humble background--and proud of it. Dedicated to her loving family and her church, she doesn't take "stuff" from nobody. Not from the rowdy customers at her job at one of Mississippi's best rib joints, and certainly not from the visiting preachers who often behave as if they are God's gift to the world. Yet Essie Lee isn't ready for the Reverend Theophilus Simmons, the new and very eligible pastor of Memphis's Greater Hope Church. Down-to-earth, caring, romantic, and oh-so-fine, he is one of the most respected young preachers in the African-American church during this time of vast social change. He's everything Essie thought she'd never find: a man who loves God, respects her for her straight-talking ways--and who ignites her with a divine fire all his own. And Theophilus realizes that Essie has everything a pastor needs in a wife--a First Lady with compassion and brains who will share the joys and challenges of his ministry. Soon Essie and Theophilus discover that dealing with the Greater Hope congregation won't be any honeymoon even after they're married. For many church