No one at West Point prepared me for this. North against South, Union against Confederate, brother versus brother—I’m tired of this war. But I’m Major Ian Cameron. I refuse to be the first soldier in four generations to wave a white flag.

When a minié ball rips through my shoulder, I nearly surrendered—not to the Rebs, but to death. The woman I rescued, Quaker widow Annie Lee, nursed me back to health. Wartime should discourage me from romance, but there’s more to Widow Lee than plain speech and a wide-brimmed bonnet. But what future can a military man have with a pacifist?

Against my wishes, I’ve been reassigned to Kentucky’s Camp Nelson and asked to transform former slaves into soldiers. Their deaths will be on my hands, and restlessness lurks in my gut. Annie says I’m prejudiced, but am I? I look into a local slave owner’s gray eyes, and they mirror my own. What if I’d been born his slave, with my destiny defined only by my race? Would I still be the same man? Everyone bleeds red, regardless of the color of their skin. But when I’m tested, what color will my soul bleed?

Rhonda has completed the novel, and it has undergone editing and a sensitivity review. The book placed as a finalist in the 2022 Genesis Contest sponsored by the American Christian Fiction Writers. A book proposal is now being circulated by her agent to publishers. Return to this page for updates on her progress.