In 1807, a young, Philadelphia woman of special gifts is accused by the religious authorities of practicing the black arts. Although the investigators can find no evidence that she has ever used her talents to harm anyone, they proceed to attempt to apprehend her to stand trial.
She anticipates them – which is her way – and flees to the frontier which, in 1807, is the sleepy fishing village of Erie, Pennsylvania.
It is now five years later. 1812. The sleepy fishing village of 400 souls finds itself on the front lines of a war against the British Empire. Among them walks a young woman of special gifts. The Brits have no idea what they are up against!
I did enjoy the book, and I think the author's intent to present history wrapped in an interesting story was met. I did learn things about the Battle of Lake Erie. However, the writing style wasn't as polished as I had hoped, and there were times when it dipped dangerously close to "Harlequin Romance," which I found unnecessary to the story and rather a detriment. The author could use a better proofreader: Some phrases were repeated within the same paragraph, and the dog's gender bounced back and forth between male and female.