It is the summer of 1863, and as the Civil War rages between dinosaur-mounted armies down south, and a tense New York City seems on the brink of exploding into riots, Magdalys Roca and the other children at the Colored Orphan Asylum are trying to survive; but when she receives a letter telling her that her brother Montez was wounded, Magdalys knows that somehow she must reach him--and just possibly her ability to communicate telepathically with dinosaurs...

Magdalys's connection with the dinosaurs has led the US Army to some important victories, but the Civil War's not over yet and the squad members find themselves fighting deep in the Louisiana bayou. Then General Ulysses S. Grant himself entrusts Magdalys with a top secret mission -- one that the very success of the Union depends on. Because as the friends will soon find out, the United States has more than one enemy. Imperial troops are gathering...