A FATAL MERCY is set in the American War of Secession and its aftermath. Drayton FitzHenry is the son of a prominent South Carolina planter. He opposes secession but joins his brothers in the Confederate Army in defense of his state. During the war's decisive battle at Gettysburg, Drayton commits an act of mercy toward a Union officer which he later discovers probably caused the South to lose the battle. By his act of mercy, he is literally...