A young man’s struggle with conscience when his country is ripped apart and his hometown wages war on itself. In 1860, handsome and wealthy Princeton graduate Chadwick Wales foresees a bright future with his childhood sweetheart, the beautiful and rich New Yorker Clarissa Renfield. But, his mother, a New England textile heiress, has kept dark secrets from him and faces a scandalous divorce from Chads loyal Virginian father. Sensing Chads inner conflict over secession, a charismatic Southerner introduces him to the Copperheads, Northerners who favor the South and plan to firebomb Manhattan. Chads probing intellect and his revulsion for war trap him in a conspiracy that threatens his life, his liberty, his betrothal and his soul. Both the glittering surface and the squalid underside of New York City during the American Civil War are brought to life, from yachts and mansions to tenements and brothels. Brutal riots, Wall Street hoaxes and unspeakable human catastrophe expose and refute the persistent myth of Americas past.
