First off, I must admit, I have a bias on this one. Not only have I traveled through the infamous Franklin, Tennessee exploring the homes and places ravaged and destroyed during the Civil War, but I have personally met Robert Hicks.(This is as close as I will ever get to name-dropping--let me have my moment.) It was the battle of Franklin that haunted General Hood throughout this novel, but that was not the focus here. It is a twisted story of friendship, life after war, love found and lost, and truly the ugliness of human nature. In fact, multiple characters evaluate their future damnation throughout the novel. Many liberties are taken, as with any work of historical fiction, and although I liked Mr. Hick's first novel The Widow of the South much more, this was worth the read.