Amity and Sorrow, by Peggy Riley

Amaranth is the first of Zachariah’s 50 wives, who live together with their children in a compound hidden in the mountains. When she married Zachariah, she was adrift and he was irresistible. Over the years Amaranth has remained steadfast as he leaves for months at a time and comes back with new wives—untethered young women in need of a family. The women and children live and work and worship together, and they listen to Zachariah preach about the end of the world.

But the community is cracking. The wives are growing suspicious of each other. Zachariah has been disappearing into the basement for hours with needles and vials, and sometimes with one of his daughters. Their ideals of acceptance and equality and love are also disappearing. Police officers start to sit in their cars at the edge of the property, trying to catch someone who will answer their questions.

Then one night someone starts a fire, and there are gunshots. Amaranth gets in a car with her two daughters, Amity and Sorrow, and starts driving. They drive for four days without stopping, until an exhausted Amaranth crashes the car. At a nearby gas station, they meet Bradley, the station’s owner, who helps them clean up and gives them a place to stay on his porch. (They won’t allow themselves to enter a strange man’s house.)