When Wilderness was King: A Tale of the Illinois Country

The novel follows the story of John Wayland a young adventurer who finds himself in the Illinois country during the tumultuous period of the American Revolution. The region largely untamed wilderness at the time is rife with conflicts between Native American tribes British forces and American settlers. Wayland becomes entangled in the political and military struggles that define the era. Alongside these tensions he is also swept into a romantic subplot involving a young woman named Rene de Veaux who has her own dangers to face. Wayland must protect her from both physical threats and the complexities of loyalty and betrayal that surround them.