"At first glance, this is a rural family drama with a twist. Jack, called Yock, chafes against the strict beliefs of his father, Christy, and wants to 'join the twentieth century' like many a farm boy before him. But farm boys usually can join the army without rupturing their bond to their community. Not Yock. By enlisting as a soldier in the First World War, he exiles himself from the pacifist Amish country side around Elmira, Ontario, and from Katie Brubacher, with whom he has fallen in love. But Chislett then takes the conflict a step further, into the realm of dangerous themes that characterize first-quality drama." --Ray Conlogue