Coming 2026
Jungle of Ashes
A sweeping tale of ambition, resistance, and impossible love set in Henry Ford’s ill-fated rubber empire in the Amazon.
By Brynn Barineau
In 1928, industrial titan Henry Ford set out to conquer the Brazilian rainforest, determined to grow his own rubber and free his company from British control. The result was Fordlandia—a factory-town dream of American order imposed on the chaos of the jungle. But behind the promise of progress lies exploitation, cultural conflict, and ecological disaster.
Seventeen-year-old Joanna Rogge is uprooted from Michigan when her father is appointed assistant manager of the Ford Company’s Amazonian plantation. Eager to escape the confining expectations of American society, Joanna finds herself both fascinated and disturbed by the rainforest—and by Rafael Caetano, a skilled Brazilian mechanic with ambitions of his own.
As conditions in Fordlandia deteriorate—diseased crops, rising fevers, and mounting tensions between management and labor—Joanna and Rafael are drawn together in a fragile romance that defies class, culture, and the company's rigid rules. When political revolution and corporate control collide, they must choose between duty and desire, safety and truth, survival and love.
Set during a period of tremendous upheaval, Jungle of Ashes tells the story of a doomed utopia through the eyes of two unforgettable characters. It is a powerful novel about the cost of empire, the resilience of the human spirit, and a love that endures even when the world around it falls apart.
Advance Praise
Coming Soon
Brynn Barineau is a writer and international education professional whose work explores the complexities and connections of cross-cultural relationships. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she holds a master’s degree in international communication and has spent her career in international education.
After college, Brynn moved to her husband’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro, where she began writing fiction as a way to navigate life in a new culture. Her experiences abroad continue to shape her storytelling, which blends vivid historical settings with emotional depth and social insight.
Her debut novel, Jaguars and Other Game, was praised by Kirkus Reviews as “an addictive tale with drama, history, and delightful protagonists,” and was named a finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award in multicultural fiction. Her creative nonfiction appears in the anthologies Once Upon an Expat and Knocked Up Abroad Again.
Brynn now lives in Atlanta with her Brazilian-American family and works in the Office of International Education at Georgia Tech.