Soldier's Joy

All brothers Quintus and Junie Fraser wanted was to leave the death and misery of the Civil War behind and return to their Hays County farm. So they left the war, only to find the war followed them to Texas. They discover that their father has been murdered and their land stolen by the home guard, the very ones who were supposed to defend those left behind. As Junie and Quintus, joined by their friend, Early, ride through a Texas landscape fearful of the uncertainty of peace, the brothers find justice remains elusive. This story of brutal loss and vengeance plays out against the backdrop of a little-remembered event in Texas history. On June 1865, as a victorious Union army began its march across Texas in the wake of the Confederacy's surrender, a small band of ex-rebel soldiers rode boldly into Austin, robbed the capitol treasury of it's remaining gold and silver. As a group of Austin residents rushed to defend the treasury, the bandits rode into the night, west over Mount Bonnell and were never seen again. The money was never found. As Quintus and Junie meet their father's killers in a final explosive confrontation, the brothers must confront the hard reality that the lessons of war are hard-won and linger with the soldier long after the battles end.