Fortuna is raising her daughter by herself when she meets Amos, who is less successfully trying to raise his son by himself. Amos has a somewhat powerful position in Kentucky state government social services and a gang of political cronies-some 60's druggies, some power-hungry aspirants to higher office, and all bad news. "The Devil Does Most of the Talking" is a novel which focuses on the phenomenon of the blended family, through the eyes of Fortuna-a Christian, once-single-parent. Mired in the difficulty in dealing with a husband who is essentially uncommitted and politically ambitious, Fortuna has also to work her way through professional implication in Kentucky's political chicanery-including murder-while trying to keep her newly created family from going off the rails.