December, 1776: Trenton, New Jersey
Anna, Sarah, and Gretchen are three young widows living on the edge of the American frontier.
Anna and Sarah lost their husbands to smallpox; Gretchen’s husband was killed on Breed’s Hill in 1775 when the Colonial militia attempted to break the British blockade of Boston.
Eking out a life in the colonies is a challenge in the best of times; with the drums of war beating all around them, that challenge is fraught with danger.
When the Hessian soldiers hired by the British to put down the rebellion billet in nearby Trenton for the winter, Anna thinks she sees a solution to their problems: a nice, strong, young German man is exactly what they need to maintain the farm and, perhaps,
provide them with the children they’ve desired.
Hans, the young man they receive when Anna makes her request of the Hessians’ commander, seems exactly what they need.
But with Washington’s army massing across the Delaware, the separate peace at Anna’s farm is very much in question …
