In the year 1763 the French and Indian War has ended with a French retreat, leaving the Native Americans at the mercy of the British. The Ottawa chief, Pontiac, decides if they are going to fight back it must be now and marshals a force behind him. In the small Amish town of Birch Run, PA, Lydia Fischer is a young woman just beginning to make her way in their world set apart from the madness of wars and rebellions.

But, when a horrible plowing accident leaves her father teetering on the edge of death, only she can do what it takes to keep the family's financial hopes alive by going to nearby Lancaster to sell her most prized possessions - the quilts in her hope chest that her grandmother made for her. In Lancaster, she meets Sam, a Native American trapper who is renting her uncle's booth. At first, she allows her prejudices to color her judgement of him, but as she comes to know him, she begins to realize that maybe what she'd always heard about Indians was wrong.

But when a stranger from the nearby town of Paxton comes to Birch Run, bringing news of Pontiac's rebellion and terrifying words about the dangers of the nearby tribes, Lydia and her friends find they can ignore the outside world no longer. Fear changes people and Lydia watches as those closest to her are wooed away from their Christian ideals by the hateful Paxton Boys, including her long-time crush, the handsome and stalwart Seth Gardner. Meanwhile, she grows closer to Sam as she grapples with her own feelings of fear and her desire to understand why this is happening.

When war erupts between Pontiac and the British, tensions in Lancaster and Birch Run begin to boil over. Lydia, Sam, and Seth find themselves in the middle of a deadly situation. What can she do when it feels like the whole world's gone mad and the people she grew up believing in show their true colors?

To address some historical misunderstanding some readers have of the Amish in order to promote greater understanding of their real culture and history:

Amish peoples do own, and have historically owned, guns for the purposes of hunting and pest control; it is only when they use them for violence that it violates their traditions.

Historically, Amish communities practiced bed dates and the most traditional orders still do.

Though currently known for their quilting skills, the 1700's Amish communities, being mostly Swiss and German, favored the duvet which was popular in Switzerland - that Lydia's family uses lap-stitched patchwork quilts is a symbol of their very low status. However, English people found the Amish quilts to be highly desirable and so the Amish adopted the practice to sell to the English.

Warning: This book contains racist comments and actions, mature themes of war, prejudice, and genocide, light in-the-moment violence, and paraphrased accounts of extreme violence and murder given by first hand witnesses of the historical events this book concerns and may not be suitable for younger or more sensitive readers. Native American readers may find it triggering of trauma or generational trauma from the genocidal acts involved, the racism, and the Indian Schools.

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