This story is set in the turbulent years of the French and Indian War, when two world powers are battling for a continent. Two Acadian boys, Jean-Claude and Louis, are cast into this crucible when one tries to keep a promise made to his father to bring family remains back to their ravaged homeland in Nova Scotia. 

They are changed forever by their experiences in the wilderness as death stalks them all the way from Louisiana to Acadie in Nova Scotia. And at the end, if they survive, they must face the wrath of a vengeful Seneca warrior who swears to kill them for what they did to his brother. 

Author’s Note 

I have long been intrigued by the French and Indian War period, which lasted roughly from 1754 to 1761. The events leading to the conflict began in the upper Ohio valley, where England and France first clashed for control of the fertile, bountiful land and the incredibly rich fur trade. The effects of this conflict were traumatic on the culture of the hapless pawns of the area, the Native Americans. 

I chose to tell this story from the viewpoint of the fifteen-year-old Acadian, Jean-Claude Pitre, who, with his friend, Louis Comeau, leaves Louisiana in 1761 to make their way through the Ohio valley up to the Great Lakes and on to old Acadie, their destination. In the process, they would experience the savagery, the beauty, and the deadly perils of the North American wilderness. They would also discover things about themselves and be changed forever by their adventure. 

In this ambitious work, I did not want readers to be inundated with historical data, but rather that they experience the country and the times through the eyes of Jean-Claude and Louis. I hope it will be well received.