Civil war buffs know that General William T. Sher-man, hero of the North, had a passionate relationship with a beautiful girl from Georgia, Cecelia Stovallo. Legend has it that their romance was the reason Sherman spared her hometown of Augusta during his infamous march to the sea, in which his troops cut a swath through nearly every other town in Georgia and burned Atlanta to the ground. A multilayered historical saga spanning a quarter-century, Haeger's novel begins with the youthful chance meeting between Sherman and Stovall that led to a secret rendezvous, a desperate love, years of separation and longing, and a love rekindled, set against the backdrop of the Civil War. An epic tale of star-crossed lovers separated by their fierce loyalties for opposing sides.