Claire Vigere is growing up in a happy habitant family in Lower Canada in 1864. Claire’s obsession is horses, particularly the hardy Canadian breed they raise on her farm. She loves to race and even wins one competition on the frozen river. But times are tough, and when the family is offered a good price for Claire’s favourite horses, they sell them to an American dealer looking for horses for the Civil War. Devastated, Claire hatches a daring plot: disguised as a boy, she stows away in the horse buyer’s cart and travels to the war zone. Pretending to be deaf and mute to cover her accent, she joins an escaped slave boy in caring for the horses. Numerous perilous adventures ensue before Claire is able to return home.

This novel has an intriguing premise and a potentially riveting plot. Claire Vigere is a feisty yet thoughtful protagonist, and although her disguise as a boy may seem far-fetched, it has numerous historical precedents. She and her family, especially her grandfather Ambrose, are all well drawn. However, the narrative staggers under the weight of excessive background information about the Civil War and habitant life (much of which could have been relegated to the historical note at the end) and suffers from unnecessary tangents. Although Claire’s viewpoint is paramount to the plot, the novel’s point of view often shifts abruptly to other characters, supplying us with information that’s not always necessary. Some anachronistic phrases and expressions shatter the fiction of the 1864 context. All of this distracts readers from what should have been a tense adventure.