Dale Swanson's deeply researched historical novel tells the human side of the 1862 Sioux Uprising. Few understand the death of thirty-eight men on December 26, 1862, and fewer still know that one man received a last minute pardon from President Lincoln. The thirty-ninth man sentenced to die was named by Lincoln as Tatemina--Round Wind. Swanon's carefully rendered novel weaves fictional events around these historical facts to create a tapestry filled with accurate depictions of notable figures from Minnesota's past. The story begins in 1862 with the beginnings of the Sioux Wars in the Minnesota River Valley, where a mixed blood named Anton McAllister balances on the razor thin line separating corrupt Indian agents, unscrupulous fur traders, the U.S. Army, and powerful chiefs from the Chippewa and Dakota nations. When his best friend is falsely accused of war crimes and sentenced to die, Anton finds himself in a race to save his friend from the gallows.