The book starts at the Battle of Spotsylvania with Grant attacking the salient. It traces through the remainder of that battle, then the march south to the North Anna River. Here Lee devises a trap by deploying his forces in an inverted V with the head against the river at Ox Ford. Grant was forced to divide his army into three separate depositions, two of which were south of the river. The actual history sees Lee falling violently ill with a severe stomach disorder. In the Yarn, Lee recovers in time to spring the trap destroying nearly half of the Army of the Potomac in the process. Lee then pursues the defeated Federals north until he forces their surrender on the banks of the Rappahannock River. Lee then moves north, captures Washington, D.C. and President Lincoln, leading to a negotiated peace in which the south gives up slavery in exchange for independence. It is the most unique Civil War novel in contemporary times.