"A soldier under fire faces a crisis of conscience in this remarkable work of historical graphic fiction. In 1847, Mexican suburb Churubusco was the stronghold of the San Patricios, a motley battalion of soldiers--even some runaway American slaves--who deserted the United States army for a just, if suicidal, cause. In this graphic novel, Ferraris tells their story through the eyes of Gaetano Rizzo (based on a real soldier). A twenty-two-year-old Sicilian immigrant, he is promised citizenship and a parcel of land if he will fight to take California away from Mexico. Soon, he sees the cruelty he is being ordered to inflict is no different from what he had escaped from"--Back cover.