Jason Alexander is abruptly informed that he won't be able to finish his studies at Illinois College because the school is closing down for the Civil War in the fall of 1862. The son of the largest cattle rancher in the Union is assigned to Edwin Stanton's War Department. Jason's adventures begin on the train ride to Washington when he foils an attempt by an evil member of the subversive Knights of the Golden Circle to assassinate Anna Ella Carroll, a close confidant of President Abraham Lincoln. Reporting to the assistant secretary of war, Agent Alexander examines mysterious documents and explores the dangerous countryside for clues to the Confederacy's uncanny ability to smuggle critical information out of Washington and into the hands of Jeb Stuart's cavalry, lurking just beyond the outer perimeter of the city's defenses. Miss Carroll mentors Jason as he confronts both War Department politics and the determined enemies of the Union. Jason Alexander's gripping saga finds him locked in deadly struggles for survival as one revealing discovery leads to another at the war's most pivotal moments just prior to Gettysburg. Manchester Bluff is a thrilling story of individual sacrifice and determination that blends fact and fiction in a way that makes it impossible to determine which is which. This is a must-read for Civil War and thriller aficionados alike.