First published 2025
George Washington stares at his exhausted Continental Army in the winter of 1777. His ragged soldiers have survived twenty-one months of war, from Lexington to Princeton, but barely. The world's most powerful military force hunts them across the colonies while King George III refuses to abandon his rebellious territories. Across the Atlantic in Paris, Benjamin Franklin courts French allies who might tip the balance. In Pennsylvania, Washington begs Congress for money, men, and supplies to keep his cause alive. British General William Howe commands the largest army Britain has ever sent overseas, yet doubts creep into his mind about winning this savage conflict. The war's middle years bring carnage at Brandywine, Saratoga, and Charleston. Washington's men endure a hellish winter at Valley Forge while the general makes desperate pleas for sacrifice. French and Spanish spies circle like vultures, threatening to join the Americans and bankrupt the British war effort. Every decision Washington makes balances on the knife edge between creating a new nation and watching his revolution collapse into blood and defeat.
Genres: historical-fiction, war, military-fiction, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: desperate-pleas, knife-edge
Setting: Atlantic, Brandywine, Charleston, Colonies, France, Paris, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Saratoga, Valley Forge
Period: 1777, 21 Months
880 pages · Hardcover · Crown