About the Book
In 1917 the world seems on the verge of chaos when hardworking coal stoker Al Johnson sets off from Albany, New York and joins the 369th Infantry Regiment - the famous Harlem Hellfighters - to fight in "The Great War." He leaves behind Evie, the love of his life, to care for three small children in the tenuous hope of a better future when (or if) he returns.
As the dismembered bodies of both white and brown combatants intermingle in the blood-soaked trenches of Europe, Al and his fellow soldiers courageously fight to hold the line against the seemingly invincible German army advancing toward Paris. Back home, Evie struggles alone to protect her family against a virulent Spanish influenza outbreak, cultivating her psychic gifts to survive the war years in the face of her husband's uncertain fate. Though separated by an ocean, with war and pandemic raging around them, this young African-American couple strives to surmount racial barriers and draws inspiration from their shared dream to build a more equitable America for their children and for future generations.