When morphine-addicted Civil War veteran John Weldon marries into the comfortably suburban McCullough family on the eve of Reconstruction and the Indian Wars, life gets complicated. How will Weldon hide his addiction from the family he resents and admires, keep his standing in the army and find the strength to survive the tragedies that come with loving others? John Weldon spends a lifetime journeying across the frontier only to find that he already has a home.
*Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice
“The various members of the McCullough family are portrayed with careful detail and some moments of unexpected humor, but it’s the tortured John Weldon who commands the book; his slow and halting search for personal redemption makes for mesmerizing reading.
. . . extremely evocative.
. . . a long and very satisfyingly complex novel. “
Steve Donoghue