Crooked Hallelujah is a novel in stories, focusing largely on Justine Barnes and her daughter Reney. A mixed-race woman raised by her Christian fundamentalist Cherokee mother in Oklahoma, Justine is raped as a young woman by an older man. She later gives birth to her only daughter, Reney. Despite the various bad men in their lives, Justine and Reney remain committed to one another. Eventually, Justine settles with Pitch, a likable white cowboy from Texas who is not violent but is not reliable either. Along the way, Crooked Hallelujah also takes time to focus on other characters in the lives of Justine and Reney, including Pitch's father, Farrell.
