"A wonderfully written, well-researched, engaging and unusual story." — Kathleen McGurl 1814. In a quiet Lancashire valley, far from the battlefields of Europe, Hugh Armstrong hopes to build a life of order and respectability-leaving behind a past he would rather forget. But the war is closer than he thinks. In a single day, everything begins to shift. He encounters escaped French prisoners of war and is led to a body thawing in the snow. As unease spreads through the close-knit community, Hugh is drawn into the lives of his mostly Quaker tenants-and into the Hutton family in particular. Dorcas, with her quiet strength and independence, challenges everything he believes about justice, compassion, and the life he has chosen. In a place where loyalties run deep and secrets do not stay buried, Hugh must decide not only where he stands, but what he owes to others-and what kind of man he wants to be. A warm, absorbing and thought-provoking historical novel of conscience, community, and an unexpected love in a time of unrest.