The Main Characters
Grant Bonner
A tragic accident changes the life and dreams of Grant Bonner and he leaves home at twenty to join the Union Army, hoping a change of environment will help heal lingering emotional scars. Recruited to join a new espionage agency, he spends the next three years behind enemy lines living in a world of shadows and lies. When he decides to resign, he is lured into conducting one more mission—one that will nearly cost him his life and send him on a journey, not of his choosing.
Col. Marcus Steele
An accomplished military strategist, Col. Marcus Steele stands among the few undefeated military commanders in the war. Despite his success, Steele and his band of rogue soldiers spend much of the war accumulating the resources necessary to finance his grand vision of a vast western empire, positioning himself to take advantage of America's westward expansion.
Col. Spencer Harrington
As chief of intelligence operations, Spencer Harrington promises to form a high-caliber espionage unit to serve behind Confederate lines in order to achieve the same kind of success enjoyed by the south in its undercover operations. When Bonner, one of his first and best recruits, resigns, Harrington asks him to handle one more mission—a routine surveillance—but keeps the real reason behind the mission a secret.
Major David Webster
Webster, aide-de-camp to Col. Harrington, is fiercely loyal and protective of his boss, especially because of the risk the colonel took by pushing the limits of federal law by recruiting him, a black man. A 1792 law had barred Negroes from bearing arms for the U.S. Army. Webster, an accomplished agent, troubleshoots a mission gone awry to protect the same secret Harrington withheld from Bonner.
Caleb Wright, MD
Thanks to his wartime experiences, Dr. Caleb Wright provides the specialized medical skill needed to save Bonner's life. Wright proves equally valuable, however, as a go-between, and the one contact Bonner can trust when he's forced to flee from authorities for a crime he didn't commit.
The Women
During Bonner's long journey, he encounters three strong and independent women who, in their own way, help in his pursuit of survival and justice. Melissa Mantoon, the daughter of a widowed farmer, helps Bonner regain the strength and confidence he had lost. Iris Brennan, a tavern owner in Kentucky, gives Bonner the helping hand he needs to avoid disaster, thanks to well-kept secret of her own. Eunice Cameron, the wife of an influential Wyoming rancher, risks her own life at one of Bonner's darkest moments.