We learn of the war in the mountains when friends and family fought each other and when it was difficult to know what side to fight on. We also follow the political ambitions of one character and the unusual love and partnership between two others. This is linked with the present day and the Civil war enactors who are raising old spirits and reopening old wounds.

THis is a meticulously researched and informative novel which does not let the background get in the way. This is a story of people trying to be the best people they can in a time of uncertainty and death ; sometimes they succeed and other times they don't. There is love and hatred mixed together with the need for survival and ambition but all the people are very real and their decisions believable. The ghost element is convincing and necessary and although the ending seems a little contrived (one character seems to be introduced purely to resolve the situation) it is believable in the spirit of the story.

I recommend this as a good and intelligent read.