In the third volume to this series, which is set in a world where everything west of the Mississippi River was separate from the American mainland. This separate continent has allowed history to form differently. In the first two books, Atlantis was settle by the English, French and Spanish before a Rebellion took place. Now, two generations after the previous volume, the USA (that is the United States of Atlantis) is heading into a major confrontation over the issue of slavery.

The north made slavery illegal many years previous, but the south's plantation-based economy is dependent on the use of the slaves. Africans and natives taken from Terra Nova, the American mainland, are the two populations used as slaves. While debate is strong in the Atlantean Congress, things are really brought to the fore through a slave revolt.

Frederick Radcliff, the illegitimate grandson of the hero of the Rebellion from the previous novel, is a house slave. He has recently gotten in trouble for tripping and spilling soup at his mistress' big party. As a result, he is being demoted to a field hand and will be given a number of lashes. His "wife," who really isn't his wife because Negroes can't marry, is joining him in his demotion.

As he settles into life as a farm hand, he finds himself less and less able to handle the inequalities he faces just because of the color of his skin. While being scolded by the plantation overseer, Frederick loses his temper and kills him with a shovel. This starts a revolt that will spread across much of the South with Frederick as the leader of the newly "freed" slaves.

While the story is primarily told from Frederick's perspectives, two other men come to the fore to add their view. In Atlantis, the executive branch takes on the form of a pair of Consuls with one representing the North and the other the South. They are in effect a shared prime ministerialship. Jeremiah Stafford of the South and Leland Newton of the North have been ordered south by the Congress to crush the spreading revolt before it tears Atlantis apart.

The two greatly disagree in how to approach the revolt because of their personal views of slavery, but they are both surprised by the capabilities of the slave army under the command of Frederick Radcliff and his "copperskin" marshall, Lorenzo. The two find themselves questioning their low estimations of slave capabilities and white superiority as they are continuously pushed back by the slave army. This is even more surprising as they are joined by the head of the Atlantean army, Colonel Balthasar Sinapis of Greece.

As usual, Turtledove has done a masterful job of creating a realistic tale. While this is likely meant to parallel the American Civil War, it contains its own twists and turns, which are largely due to the unique nature of Atlantis. The Radcliffs/Radcliffes are still a highly influential family. Not only did they help colonize the continent, but they have played crucial roles in its history since the arrival of Europeans there. Even as Frederick is not part of an accepted branch of the family, he definitely lives up to his name with the events.

One of the things I have always liked about Turtledove's books is that he masterfully creates realistic characters. The reader is presented the events of the alternate history through their eyes. Usually, this is done to offer very different perspectives, giving the reader a full gamut of the pros and cons of events and why people might do some terribly, horrible things.

Turtledove also tends to offer a great deal of detail about what is happening and the causes and consequences of events. I am not sure that I could say it all comes down to research because it really is in relation to what could have been rather than the details of what did happen. Either way, he is rich and complete in his storytelling. This is another great addition to the series and to his body of work as a whole.