Book one in 'The Forty-Eighters' series.

In the spring of 1848, at the onset of the Baden Rebellion, Bernhard Zimmer’s values are at war with his greatest fears: honor and duty to community vs. the inability to provide for his family and the loss of a loved one. 

Bernhard, the head of the Zimmer family, is an ordinary man living an ordinary life on the right side of the Rhine in the small town of Ettlingen. He works hard to provide for his family, follows the rules, and tries to avoid conflict. 

Bernhard ignores the unrest spreading at an alarming rate through the Grand Duchy of Baden, until… just steps from his front door, a starving peasant attacks Bernhard’s fellow merchant and longtime friend, the Jewish baker. Bernhard intercedes but soon realizes this is only a taste of the coming trouble. 

Bernhard escorts his wife to a liberal rally only to discover Fran’s secret identity. Feeling foolish, angry, and betrayed, Bernhard wrestles with his past traumas. 

As a result, Bernhard embarks on a journey that turns this ordinary, middle-class merchant into a popular hero. He commits treason, champions the poor, partners with his wife, and forces the monarchy to aid impoverished German migrants. But will Bernhard’s friends and family pay the price?