Cotton was no longer King and Manchester’s mills remained idle. The Etherow-O’Donnell and Akroyd families find themselves battling against a new enemy - a lack of work and widespread starvation. Famine stalked the land as the forces of the Confederacy and the Union battled it out in a war between Americans - brother against brother - father against son. The outcome of the Civil War would determine the future of the U.S. - whether democracy and liberty would triumph, or a new Confederate States of America emerge - a separate country with a government based on chattel-slavery and despotism. Just as Americans found themselves divided, so too did the antagonistic classes in the cotton-manufacturing region of England. Once again the author skilfully weaves his weft of fiction into the warp of historical reality. An exciting read from start to finish. PUBLISHED IN SUPPORT OF THE WORKING CLASS MOVEMENT LIBRARY IN MANCHESTER’S TWIN CITY OF SALFORD.