November 1864: As the Civil War rolls into its fourth bloody year, the tide has turned decidedly in favor of the Union. In a massive surge southward, William Tecumseh Sherman conquers the city of Atlanta, sweeping aside the Confederate army under the inept leadership of General John Bell Hood. As Sherman cuts a path through the Confederacy, he will contend with the last great hope for the Southern cause, the cautious yet stubborn General Joseph E. Johnston. Concluding his epic Civil War tetralogy, Jeff Shaara tells the story of the final eight months of battle from the perspectives of the commanders as well as the ordinary foot soldiers and cavalrymen who carried out their orders until the end.