I wish I could give this book SIX stars - not because it was exceptionally written or had an outstanding story (which it was and had) but because I was drawn into this powerful and engaging emotional family saga immediately and had me totally engrossed in the compelling and heartbreaking story. Starting off in 1861 we hear of a young man being acquitted of murder due to lunacy and sent to an asylum. His mother is enraged and shouts out in court that he has been 'Da.mned Without Cause'. We then go back 18 years to his birth and the story begins with the family's story of how three brothers - Henry, David and John - were born to William and Rachel and how they couldn't be more different to each other. One day Samuel (the grandfather) takes the children to a local horse fair, a day that sets off a train of circumstances that will have far reaching consequences for all the family. But far worse is the dark, evil and perverted nature of John that starts to expose itself - his depth of depravity has no limits! I was particularly saddened at the plight of the impoverished farm hands working so hard to provide for and feed their families, the families who moved to the towns believing life would be better only to find sanitation and poverty even worse and the inhuman treatment of people suffering from illnesses like epilepsy being labelled lunatics. Life must have been unimaginably hard in all areas of living and I truly felt for Rachel, the mother in the story, especially watching her eldest son - being so young - enlist in the army. There's been a HUGE amount of research carried out for this book, from life in the 1800's, to the armies and wars fought around that time, the social attitude towards the sick labelled lunatics and the dreadful and undignified workhouses. Even the description of the horse fair was so highly detailed I could almost smell the pungent air! I fully intend reading this author's previous other books "Searching for Walter" and "John's Promise" which both look really good. If you like reading historical family saga books, this is a MUST, you won't be disappointed - heartbreaking, emotional, poignant and at times distressing, I know this story will definitely stay with me a very long time! An amazing 5 stars and then some!!