The Ugly Hate is a romance and crime novel. In 1898, the United States of America won its territories, Puerto Rico and Cuba, from a contest with Spain. After the win, American soldiers returned to the mainland for the only coup d'état in American history. Somewhere along the King's Highway, a serial killer is wreaking havoc, leaving a trail of carnage for a drug-addled British detective to contemplate. Sorting through the masses of gore and evidence, there have to be clues that point to an answer that will spare the lives of more unwitting travelers and residence along the highway. Meanwhile, a romance between Emily and Jordan has blossomed within the true spirit of Americana. The couple is focused on their haste toward the coast of Georgia to board the S.S. Savannah, which will take them on their first steam engine trip across the Atlantic. But the path to England is complicated by the British agent who knows Emily's darker secrets and the winter hurricane threatening all on the Georgia coast.