A former slave makes her way to Oregon Territory in the company of her immigrant husband and a white woman following her husband out west, while a Kalapuya Indian named Betsy's story unfolds in the land where their stories will intersect.

This sequel to Donald McCaig's Civil War novel "Jacob's ladder" delivers a saga of Reconstruction America from Lee's 1865 surrender at Appomattox to Custer's 1876 massacre at Little Big Horn. McCaig follows the changing fortunes of a diverse ensemble of characters, including Edward, a wartime top sergeant for the 38th Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops. Travelling west as a scout, trail cook, cattle driver, and sharpshooter, he marries a Santee Indian....

"In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry, freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother,...