A mother travels to the front lines in search of her son in Huggler’s Civil War epic.

Rachel Barnum is the widowed mother of four—twin girls and two teenage sons. Up in Michigan, she takes care of her children and tends to the family farm with her hired hand, John Welch. Her eldest son, Dwight, joins the Michigan 2nd Cavalry in the autumn of 1861. In the spring of the following year, Rachel receives terrible news: A telegram from the War Department reports that her son is ill in New Madrid, Missouri. The narrative follows Rachel’s journey from Michigan to Missouri after she resolves that a mother must be with her ailing—and possibly dying—child. Her adventure takes her across the Midwest until she arrives in Cairo, Illinois. There, she learns of a series of natural disasters, including a tornado, that have ravaged Missouri, throwing the fate of her son into question. If Dwight died in the tornado, her journey—and her decision to leave her other children behind in Michigan—could have all been for nothing. She shares her story with a journalist who might be able to bring news of her son back to her. Rachel, whom Huggler reveals was an actual person, is a remarkable and engaging protagonist. Her turmoil—including her worry for oldest son, her concern for her other children, and her resistance to the predations of men—is palpable and drives the story forward. The momentum dips at points, however; a few chapters shift the perspective to other characters, pulling the reader away from the compelling central narrative. Huggler’s prose is sometimes overbaked—passages noting “the exertion required to traverse hardened snow” can prevent the reader from feeling fully immersed in an otherwise moving story. Still, fans of history will find Rachel a worthy character to spend time with.

A compelling real-life protagonist anchors this affecting historical novel.