First published 2012
The year is 1781, and George Washington faces a desperate choice. Three years of bitter fighting have produced only stalemate. The British hold New York with their navy blocking every approach. Then two critical messages arrive. French ships will briefly patrol the American coast. British General Cornwallis has pulled back to Yorktown after brutal campaigns in the Carolinas. Washington decides to risk everything on an audacious plan. He will secretly march his entire army over three hundred miles south, hoping the French fleet can blockade Chesapeake Bay long enough for him to surround Cornwallis. Sergeant Peter Wellsley scouts ahead, silencing any loyalists who might warn the enemy. On the British side, Allen Van Dorn notices suspicious activity and investigates what the Americans are planning. As Wellsley works to maintain secrecy, Van Dorn tries to uncover the truth. When one former friend captures the other, both men must choose their true allegiance as Washington's army faces its most important battle.
Genres: historical-fiction, military-fiction, action, american-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: New York, Yorktown, Chesapeake Bay, Carolinas
Period: 1781
345 pages · Hardcover · Thomas Dunne Books