"One of the finest crafters of historical fiction" follows an Arkansas family's epic struggles from the Civil War to the opening of the American West ( New York Times– bestselling author Heather Graham).

The Hancocks were true American pioneers: tough, enterprising, eager to make their own destinies. Then came the Civil War: the bloody conflict that destroyed most of a generation and cast the Hancocks to the winds . . .

Amid the ravages of war and the struggle to rebuild, William Gear draws readers into the hopes, dreams, and despairs of the Hancock siblings: Philip, the doctor whose life is destroyed upon his return home; Butler, the teacher whose spiritual path leads to insanity; Billy, whose all-consuming guilt has terrible consequences; and Sarah, the stunning beauty who flees West to reinvent herself after surviving a brutal attack.

Through the tragedies and triumphs of a single family, this sprawling epic shows how ordinary people deal with unimaginable devastation, and how the bonds of family can never truly be broken.

W. Michael Gear