Sarah Mahon is wrapped up in the sentiments of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but she soon discovers that the American revolution is not going to emancipate the women. Not one to be defeated, the plucky heroine goes about a personal rebellion that puts into motion a host of unintended consequences.

Her determination to marry Jack Ashford, a British officer, is sabotaged by her partisan-leaning family. While Jack wavers between hope for a different outcome and despair that it is too late, Sarah struggles to carve out a little independence in a face-saving marriage. The author does a brilliant job of showing how small amounts of liberty can be abused, as the less-than-perfect Sarah falls from grace.

The novel spans the close of the Eighteenth Century, and over the course of the narrative Sarah matures into a woman who has gained a level of freedom that she does not care to relinquish after she is widowed and thus free to marry Jack.

A thoroughly enjoyable work of historical fiction with strong romantic elements, I highly recommend this book. ( )