After the events of REBEL HEART, Calvin has to face the uncomfortable truth that the technomancer army hasn't been completely honest with him about their long-term goals: if they drive the British wizards out of the land, there's a good chance many of their laws and customs will remain in practice. And that's not why he joined the army. After he runs afoul of the chain of command, he finds himself in the vast American wilderness, unarmed and nearly helpless, desperate to return to Mount Vernon--to Amelia--before a new threat kills him. To make matters worse, the young mage Godfrey Norrington survived their previous encounter, and has quite an appetite for revenge... With Calvin's death seeming to be a foregone conclusion, he decides to push himself harder and farther than he ever has before, clinging to his last, greatest, and only hope for salvation: that Amelia can somehow help him get the war back on track, and save his life in the process.