The Civil War is in its fourth year. With the national election looming, Abraham Lincoln is desperate to find a way to end the bloodshed and reunite the country. “Robert E. Lee must be destroyed,” suggests one of his top military advisors. If he dies, “the South will collapse.” With reluctance the president agrees, a plot is hatched and the assassin chosen.

Captain Jon Westmoreland is a veteran cavalryman. To his men, he's the best officer in the army. To General Ulysses S. Grant, he is the best man to eliminate Lee. There was only one problem. He had once met Lee, had acquired much respect for him.

Westmoreland swore to tackle his new job to the best of his ability despite a private affinity for the great Confederate leader. But this job, unlike any other he had experienced, would require a trainload of luck, for waiting for him across the picket line were obstacles to hurdle in the form of enemy patrols, bad weather, renegades of the worst variety, and a horse soldier from Virginia who was renowned for his dedication to his duty. In fact, Major Matthew Gibson was the kind of man who would rather die than allow anyone to get close enough to snuff out the life of the South's most celebrated and beloved soldier.

Could Jon look the great man in the eye when the time came and squeeze the trigger, or would he hesitate and do nothing? Whatever his decision, one thing was certain. He will determine the course of the Civil War.