He'd earned it...As punishment for his past deeds, Dougal Lachlan was prepared to spend the rest of his days in prison. But without warning, he wakes up in an unexpected place and time with a new mission. Should he be thankful, or terrified? She didn't...Mara Hess hasn't spoken for the last ten years. Her family believes she's dimwitted. But Mara knows something - a secret she's afraid to share. The only way to make sure no one else ever learns what she knows is to never speak at all. In a nation at war with itself...Union troops arrive to fight the Confederate rebels for the lazy town of Wheeler's Landing. But the Union soldiers aren't what they seem. The town, and the Hess family, are in terrible danger. Can Dougal shake out his new, untested wings and fight for those he's come to love? Will Mara's secret doom the town and her family, or save them all?