An epic novel of the Civil War.
From the opening salvo at Fort Sumter to the killing fields of Gettysburg, here is the bloodiest conflict in our history, seen through the hearts and minds of those who lived in fear and died on faith . . . in the war that changed everything.
Haunted by the terrible secret of their youth, James and Kevin Bannon, sons of a prosperous New Jersey businessman, are bound by blood but divided by war. James marches with the hastily formed Company J, 4th Virginia Volunteer Infantry, known as the "Lexington Defenders". Kevin enters the struggle as a lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment, New Jersey militia - two reluctant warriors on opposite sides of a violent abyss. Drawing solace from the women they love, the brothers are swept up in bloody whirlwind, hurtling toward one of the most unforgettable climaxes in contemporary fiction.