New York, 1812. As war drums echo across the Battery and volunteers answer the call to arms, Sapphira Bloommaert faces a battle closer to home. She is the belle of Bowling Green, bred on tradition and family pride, but her heart has chosen Leonard Murray, a young man her father views with cold disapproval. The streets where she once promenaded under moonlit skies now swarm with war fever, flags flying and drums beating, while inside the Bloommaert household, the real conflict simmers: duty versus desire, heritage versus happiness. Leonard proves himself a gallant leader, uniformed and ready to defend the harbor, but it is the white roses he sends Sapphira that truly stir controversy. Family tensions flare, cousin Annette sows mischief, and yet the unspoken bond between the young lovers only deepens. When Leonard's company is called to man the harbor defenses, Sapphira waits, composed, resolute, for the farewell that will test everything she claims to believe about love and sacrifice. Barr paints a vivid portrait of a city on the brink and a woman on the verge of choice.
