"The best fantasy series in progress." - Publishers Weekly
Alvin has been trying to avert the terrible war that his wife, Peggy, a torch of extraordinary power, has seen down the life-lines of every American. Now she has sent him down the Mizzippy to the city of New Orleans, or Nueva Barcelona as they call it under Spanish occupation. Alvin doesn't know exactly why he's there, but when he and his brother-in-law, Arthur Stuart, find lodgings with a family of abolitionists who know Peggy, he suspects he'll find out soon.
"Just when you think you know what a writer has up his sleeve, he surprises you with a pair of aces. Orson Scott Card is that kind of writer.... Card uses language in these novels like never before. The speech os the characters refelcts their time and beliefs and his descriptions bring the magic alive for the reader." - Indianapolis News