The origins of the scandalous 19th-century matriarch of David Sonneman’s mother are evocatively revealed in this prelude to Redemption. Born as the illegitimate love child of the woman who bore the legendary cross of gold upon first arriving in America from the shores of Haiti and the patriarch of the Calhoun family in the years preceding the Civil War, the life and times of Margaret Anne Basseterre are certain to hold any reader captive until the very last of her haunting secrets are revealed. The novel is a bold walk through the many societal and spiritual battles raging during the years that the country fought to establish both its identity as a nation and its identity under God. The enduring lore of the child of the west wind lies at the heart of the Calhoun family’s deepest secrets following their rise from the ashes of the war. Ronan James Cassidy is a classically trained author who has spent time living in various regions throughout the United States. His primary field of interest is colonial literature from the Americas, Ireland, Africa, and India. Mr. Cassidy also possesses a graduate degree in finance and spent several years studying the evolution of the current monetary order. Ronan was inspired to write the Redemption series as a loose yet captivating metaphor for his journey towards devoted faithfulness to God and the tearing down of the veils of deceit so rampant in the modern age. His website is www.ronanjamescassidy.com and all of his writings are dedicated to the tireless hours his devoted mother spent living her life as an eternal example of the joys of enduring love and assisting her son with the writing and editing of his published works. Margaret Anne is also dedicated to Mr. Cassidy’s amazing younger brother.