Two friends, bound by music but separated by the Jim Crow-era color line, endure the trials, tribulations and triumphs of life in this moving novel from the acclaimed author of O SINNERS! and DANCES.

Hal Jansen, the artistic, sensitive youngest son of a successful department store executive, has just dropped out of college to begin a burgeoning folk music career when he stumbles into a chance performance by blues prodigy Rudy Amos. Amidst the political turmoil of the 1960s, the two immediately strike up a profound camaraderie and begin to write songs as letters to each other, as a way of transmuting all of their tribulations into music.

Over decades --- through addiction, mental health crises, societal expectations, profound personal loss and failed marriages --- the pair's brotherhood sees them through as they put everything on the line for their dreams.

Set against the backdrop of a changing America, THEY WILL KNOW OUR NAMES is a lyrical celebration of the transformative friendships that hold us through the chaos of life and the music that keeps us going, despite it all.