A former slave turned cavalry scout becomes a hero for an African-American cavalry regiment in the Civil War. But, as the war draws to an end, the soldier, Joe Duckett, embarks on his most dangerous mission yet-to return to the plantation from which he escaped to find his wife and daughter. A Washington Post Notable Book. Also a winner of the First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. "The important story of black soldiers in the Union Army has finally found a writer of historical fiction equal to the occasion." James A McPherson, Professor of History, Princeton University