The beleaguered forces of General George Washington were hard pressed by a well-equipped British army outside Philadelphia. Patriot victory depended upon the Spanish gold and powder that Colonel George Gibson's "Lambs" were commissioned to transport from New Orleans, north through enemy territory. When the crucial cargo of gold is stolen, Martin Joe Richtier, the personal envoy of General Anthony Wayne, knows that he alone must bear the responsibility for its recovery. From the battle lines of the Pennsylvania regiments to the dank confines of a British prison in Detroit, Richtier's search is plagued by intrigue and danger. Suspicion clouds his love for the courageous Hester Jordan, who has been seen too often in the company of Tories, and a horrible death at the hands of angry natives led by a maniacal frontiersman stalks the forests through which his route lies. In Powder Mission Herbert E. Stover who has told a compelling story of excitement and romance against a background of history brought to life by an intimate knowledge of the times and the terrain. This book promises to add a host of new followers, young and old, to the readers of the author's two previous novels, Song of the Susquehanna and Men in Buckskin.