The forerunner of 12 YEARS A SLAVE: Pulitzer nominated author David W. Menefee's tale about two brothers and their struggle to survive 14 years of slavery. In BROTHERS OF THE STORM, Abraham Lincoln cannot save Americans from war, but when one of the two brothers is condemned to die for a crime he did not commit, the Great Emancipator faces one of the most compelling decisions of his life. In BROTHERS OF THE STORM, the course of Black American history changes through the efforts of Lincoln and many other admirable men and women, such as Frederick Douglass, Sengbe Pieh, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman, but they do not walk alone. From the Amistad rebellion to the Emancipation Proclamation, Black American history comes alive in the story of Matthew and Mark, brothers of the storm of war, who follow in their footsteps. The twin orphans are torn apart and forced to live distant, separate lives. One boy's hopes are shattered, his brother's dream becomes a nightmare, and a war ignites the fuse for an explosive adventure. Their lives celebrate the power of the human spirit to do what is right no matter what the cost, and their will to reunite plunges them on a roller coaster ride along the twisting trail to freedom in a world gone mad. Believing that nothing is impossible, and trusting that love is stronger than evil, Mark fights against overwhelming odds in a nail biting race against time to save Matthew from execution before the wheels of justice forever destroy their dream to reunite.