An epic novel of star-crossed lovers set in a doomsday cult on the Texas prairie that asks: what would you sacrifice for the person you love?

Waco, Texas 1993. People from all walks of life have arrived to follow the Lamb’s gospel—signing over savings and pensions, selling their homes and shedding marriages. They’ve come here to worship at the feet of a former landscaper turned prophet who is preparing for the End Times with a staggering cache of weapons. Jaye’s mother is one of his newest and most devout followers, though Jaye herself has suspicions about the Lamb’s methods—and his motives.

Roy is the youngest son of the local sheriff; a 14 year old boy with a heart of gold and a nose for trouble who falls for Jaye without knowing of her mother’s attachment to the man who is currently making his father’s life hell. The two teenagers are drawn to each other immediately and completely, but their love may have dire consequences for their families. The Lamb has plans for them all—especially Jaye—and as his preaching and scheming move them closer and closer to unthinkable violence, Roy risks everything to save Jaye.

Based on the true events that unfolded thirty years ago during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound, Bret Anthony Johnston’s We Burn Daylight is an unforgettable love story, a heart-pounding literary page turner, and a profound exploration of faith, family, and what it means to truly be saved.

“Yes, it is spellbinding. Yes, it is explosive. Yes, it is a must-read book that will endure until our daylight runs out... An ineffable work of fiction bringing the historical to an accuracy of truth, We Burn Daylight is full of characters grappling with the ways loss and language and space and desire make it so hard to speak not to the loss but to each other. Simply put, Johnston’s novel is a triumph of a greatness so startlingly bright and attractive that, like our sun, you cannot help but stare at the very thing that sustains us but will also destroy us.” – Morgan Talty, national bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit: A Novel

“Fascinating characters and an engaging, authentic style gives We Burn Daylight a fine shot at the Great American Novel sweepstakes. Few people can bring Texas to life on the page like Bret Anthony Johnston.” — Gary Schteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story and Our Country Friends

“With bravery and compassion, Bret Anthony Johnston takes on a watershed moment in American history, cutting through the myth and messianism to reveal a story that is profoundly—and tragically—human.” — Cristina Henriquez, author of The Great Divide

“I surrendered to this majestic novel—its masterly plot, its unbearably honest gaze upon very recent history, and its characters, as intricately and astonishingly human as can be—and flew through it in two days. It haunts me. A colossal achievement of We Burn Daylight is that it demands to be read in a breathless rush, and afterward, demands deepest and most private reflection.” — Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning