What would life be like for you if you were a teenager growing up during the American Civil War? In this first book in a series, life for three very different people struggle to survive in a conflict over which they had no power.

FOR EMILY, a spirited girl recently orphaned, it meant she was forced to leave the North to live with slave-holding relatives in Virginia. An abolitionist’s daughter, Emily’s outspoken Union views constantly collided with her host’s Confederate beliefs. Powerless to leave or change her situation, could Emily learn to cope?

FOR GIDEON, son of a hardscrabble dirt farmer, the war starting meant his family needed him on the farm. This seemed to destroy his dream of going to Richmond to become a writer. But his dream would not die. Instead, it created an inner drive that pitted him against many obstacles, and repeatedly plunged him into grave danger.

FOR NAT, a strong-willed slave who had been secretly educated against Virginia’s laws, had been bought as a body servant for the brutal son of Briarstone Plantation’s master who was away fighting the Yankees. Besides his own longing to be free, Nat’s objective is to find his mother, sister and brothers who had been sold at auction. He planned to help them escape to Canada. Nat’s daring efforts resulted in harsh punishment that could scar his body, but not his determination.