When Colonel Joseph Kershaw leaves Camden, South Carolina, to lead the American rebels in their struggle against the British, he leaves his son Joey behind as the man of the house. But what can a 13-year-old do when General Cornwallis comes into town and makes the Kershaws' home his headquarters, and begins hanging American prisoners in the family garden? Joey is determined to get revenge—even if he has to risk everything.

In Philadelphia in the early 19th centry, Robby Hare's father forces him to help with an unthinkable task-robbing newly filled graves of their contents to sell to the medical college. Despite his interest in the doctor's research, Robby swears never to rob another grave, even if his mother relies on the money they bring in. When William Burke and his daughter, Martha, come to live at their boarding house, Robby's father becomes caught in a broader web of evil. Could his father and Burke be murdering people to provide bodies for medical science? Determined to expose their scheme, Robby must be brave enough to enter the graveyard one more time.

Howard Gardner is starving to death. All spring and summer, Howard and his older, more charming brother Jack worked as hoggees, driving the mules that pulled boats along the Erie Canal. In a misguided attempt to outshine his brother, Howard chooses to stay behind in Birchport for the winter to save his traveling money and send it home to his family. After his winter job falls through, Howard fears that he might not survive the winter.As desperate as Howard is, he is haunted by the sadness he sees in the eyes of Sarah, the granddaughter of the man who keeps the mules. Even though she's older than her two sisters, she never speaks, and she seems completely disconnected from the world. Sarah's family won't discuss her problem with outsiders, but Howard longs to help her in any way he can, and his quest to do so eventually reveals to him how he truly compares to his brother.Once again, Anna Myers has crafted a moving, nuanced coming-of-age story set against the backdrop...