First published 2017
Thomas McNulty arrives in America at seventeen, having escaped Ireland's Great Famine with nothing but his life. In the 1850s, he enlists in the US Army and forms an unbreakable bond with fellow soldier John Cole. Together they march across the Western plains, fighting brutal campaigns against the Sioux and Yurok tribes. The violence follows them as the nation splits apart and they find themselves caught in the Civil War's carnage. Between battles, Thomas and John create an unlikely family when they take in Winona, a young Sioux girl. Their makeshift household becomes a refuge from the chaos surrounding them. The three move from Wyoming's open country to Tennessee's battlefields, bound together by loyalty and love. Thomas watches his adopted country tear itself apart while discovering what it means to belong somewhere. In a time when survival depends on violence, he must reconcile the tenderness he feels for his chosen family with the brutality demanded by war.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, military-fiction, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, love-story, loyalty
Setting: America, Ireland, Sioux, Tennessee, Western Plains, Wyoming, Yurok
Period: 1850s, Civil War, Great Famine
1 pages · Audio CD · Blackstone Publishing
Content warnings: graphic-violence, violence, war