Award-winning novel based on a true story. Etienne's family is fleeing La Rochelle in the dead of night to avoid arrest, but his cousin has offered him a safe haven. Now he must choose - stay and pursue his dream of becoming a musketeer or leave and face an uncertain destiny. Both choices are fraught with dangers. Either way his life will never be the same.
In October 1660, Etienne Gayneau rushes through the cobblestone streets of La Rochelle, France, to meet his cousin at the harbor. A ship carrying King Louis XIV's elite musketeers is docking. This story traces one boy's journey from France to America as he finds the courage to save himself and those he loves.
Etienne Gayneau's family is fleeing La Rochelle in the dead of night to avoid his father's certain arrest in the morning, but his Catholic cousin has offered him a safe haven. Now he must choose. If he leaves with his family, he will have to abandon his only true friend along with everything he has ever known, and he never become a musketeer to face an unknown furture. If he stays, he will never see his parents and sisters again. Both choices are fraught with dangers and uncertainty. One thing is sure – his life will never be the same again.

"Cetas skillfully plots Etienne's journey as an uphill climb full of switchbacks, with determination gradually replacing indecision, and a clear-eyed faith supplanting fantastical visions." - BookLife Review