"In a new series related to his bestselling SHENANDOAH SISTERS, Michael Phillips returns to the post-civil war South in a story of forgiveness, danger and love and introduces readers to a slave boy nicknamed Jake. Jake abandons the army and starts North, carrying a grudge and his guilty secret, on a quest to find freedom and his long-lost father. In North Carolina, he not only discovers his father, but two intriguing young women as well, one of them a former slave like himself. Jake soon falls in love with the beautiful black girl, but she is hesitant to marry anyone just yet. She has only recently come to know her real father and longs spend more time with her new family. Meanwhile, Jake runs into trouble with some white boys in town and soon the hooded riders are burning crosses in their yard. Has Jake learned to forgive his father--and himself--only to lose his true love...and possibly his life?"--Publisher.