Book one in 'The Forty-Eighters' series.

  In the spring of 1848, Bernhard Zimmer is an ordinary man living an ordinary life on the right side of the Rhine River in the Grand Duchy of Baden, a sovereign member of the German Confederation. Bernhard works hard to provide for his family, follows the rules, and tries to avoid conflict. Until his longtime friend, the Jewish baker, is attacked by an impoverished peasant. Bernhard embarks on a journey that will turn this small-town, middle-class merchant into a popular hero. Bernhard champions the poor and destitute by forcing the monarchy to grant aid, but will his friends and family pay the price?