Publisher's Synopsis
The firing broke out again louder and closer than before. Six rebels on horseback were approaching in a cloud of dust not half a mile away up the long straight road. Jim slid his arm around the private's waist. "We can make it," he said confidently. "Just lean on me." Half carrying, half supporting him, Jim somehow got Conleigh onto the stallion's back, then swung himself up behind. A bullet riddled his left sleeve, skinning his arm. He dug his heels fiercely into the stallion's flank... America 1775 - a land of tyranny, rebellion, espionage, betrayal and treason - and of the unconquerable American spirit. It was a New World where anything could happen. To this world sails the British major, Sir Jim Winfield - young, idealistic, filled with enthusiasm, yet staunchly loyal and unshakably uncompromising in his beliefs. He was hoping for adventure and excitement and there was plenty to be had. Jim stepped ashore and straight into a web of lies, where nothing was what he expected and nothing was what it seemed. Friend and foe become appallingly unclear, and as events unfold his world begins to shatter. No longer knowing whom he can trust, he sets out on a quest to find the truth. But the truth may be far more alarming and perilous than anything he had ever bargained for, and he begins to wish he had never come. Thirteen inexperienced, untrained, ill-equipped and out numbered English colonies made the radical decision: "In God we will trust." This same decision is faced by a young English major when his principles of loyalty and justice begin violently to clash. ...Once more they were in the sergeant's hut, now with Jim standing before them, his arms still bound and his head spinning. "Well?" demanded the lieutenant. "Before I waste any more of my time. This man claims you have something important to say." Jim brought his attention into focus on the officer seated before him. Surely - surely this could not be happening to him? The lieutenant was sitting there, so complacent and indifferent, so contemptuous. He had no intention of changing his mind. No matter what Jim said, he had already decided Jim was guilty, and an Englishman knew, of course, much better. Ever afterward Jim would remember that moment as a turning point. This was where he began. His first time of many to do the unthinkable. Here was where the steady, level-headed, well-educated (and aristocratic!) European began to lose his head...
