Set during the American Civil War, this book follows the confrontation of North against South. Nathaniel Starbuck is a Northerner, but fleeing his family after the disgrace of his involvement with a French actress, he turns to his best friend, Adam Faulconer.

Copperhead was the name given to Northern sympathisers of the Confederacy, after a venomous species of North American snake. It is a name that sticks to Nathaniel Starbuck, a preacher's son who has run away from family, college and a foolish love affair, taking shelter in the Falconer legion.

This book continues the story of a nation torn apart by civil war and the life of Nathaniel Starbuck, a northerner fighting for the southern cause that was started in Battle Flag . All the military and personal intrigues are continued here, but the main event of the novel is the Battle of Antetum.

Third volume in the Starbuck Chronicles. The battle for control of Richmond, the Confederate capital, continues through the hot summer of 1862.

In the winter of 1777, the British Army marched triumphantly into Philadelphia. The Redcoats had won the battles against the rebellious colonists and forced them to winter in the cod hills, while they danced in Philadelphia. Christopher Vane and Sam Troop both meet women that winter who change their lives.