Pembrokeshire, West Wales 1904: Apprentice solicitor Arthur Nicholas seeks one William Batine James, who stands to inherit a Fishguard farm.
He seemingly vanished after emigrating first to Canada and then to the United States in 1871. What Arthur cannot know is that James enlisted in the US Seventh Cavalry at Chica-go. In 1876 he fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn - Custer's Last Stand - when 210 soldiers were massacred by a huge force of Indians...
As the unsuspecting Seventh head towards their Armageddon, James himself recounts the tortured odyssey he undertook from rural west Wales all the way to hostile Indian territory in Montana Territory.
These recollections are interspersed with Arthur's dogged efforts in following his trail al-most thirty years later.
James recalls brutal schooling during the 'Welsh Not' era when children were caned and beaten for using their native tongue.
Inexplicably, he finds himself unable to recite The Lord's Prayer in Welsh.
Though a proficient soldier, James is troubled by the US Government's persecution of the Indians; even drawing parallels with Welsh oppression.
On the fateful ride to Little Bighorn, James continues to brood over his troubled past and gradually comes to the realisation that he is as much of a fugitive as the enemy he is pursuing.
But what he has not taken into account is that the one thing a man can never escape from is himself...
Based on true events, Mike Lewis's debut novel examines how horrific childhood experiences shape the adults we become.
- ISBN13 9781838036041
- Publish Date 30 June 2021
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Victorina Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 444
- Language English