Harper's Rescue

March 1862. Grant's victories in the War of the Rebellion have forced the Confederates to abandon most of Kentucky. Harper and his men return to Paducah, only to learn that they must sit idle until the army exchanges their paroles. Harper's commanding officer has found menial work for him while the others set to work repairing weapons scavenged from the Donelson battlefield. Except, word of Harper's ability has reached Grant's staff and they recruit him for an espionage mission. Young Katie Malloy has found a balance in her life as a saloon-worker and a nursing aide in the ward assigned to Confederate wounded. But when her friend, Eleanor leaves the saloon to establish a club exclusively for officers, Katie is left behind working for the ruthless Loorena Bosley whose only motive is to increase profits in spite of the dangers to the working girls. Harper recruits Eleanor's assistant, Maggie to help find the Paducah spy ring but his frequent visits create suspicion with Eleanor. Even the now-loyal Magnusson comes to question Harper's motives until a coordinated sabotage throughout the town throws everyone's life into chaos. In the second volume of the Shiloh Trilogy, some find new strength, plans fall apart, and innocents and evildoers meet their fates. Friendships and alliances form and fall apart with fatal consequences. The strong become weak and the weak become strong where allies and enemies aren't as easily knowable as on the battlefield. Gabhann spins a deeply moving, complex character study of espionage, personal relationships, and survival of common people caught in the midst of the War Between the States in the style of C.S. Foerster and Leon Uris.