Martha [antikvár]

r Leaving Alderson March 4, 2005, a few minutes after midnight. The temperatures are sub-freezing, maybe even in the teens. Snow covers the ground. Nearby is the Alderson Federal Women's Prison at Alderson, West Virginia. Dubbed "Camp Cupcake" for its easy living, it is more like hell for its 980 inmates. Soon, its most famous prison inmate will go free. The rumor mill is churning in full force. Maybe she'll come out in an hour or two, maybe she'll emerge through an entirely different gate. Perhaps she'll make a public statement soon after her release. Any public utterance that she makes this evening, any facial gesture, will be dissected and analyzed and conveyed immediately around America and the rest of the world. For the prisoner is both the most famous and infamous woman in America. Many know her simply by her first name, Martha. Five months earlier, she slipped into jail in the dark of the night just before dawn, silent, secretive, sullen, strident, high and mighty. Now, she is about to begin her post-prison freedom and she is on a dramatic mission to stage an unprecedented comeback. Can she pull it off? Will her fans welcome her with open arms? Can she again become the queen of homemaking? Can she ignite fresh energy into her faltering businesses? Or will she be scorned as a convicted felon? Will her commercial empire remain a shadow of itself? XVII