The Long Road Home: A Novel of Duty, Redemption, and the Cost of Command (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798185282694)

Captain Julian Ashcombe makes the right military decision.

Hundreds die because of it.

Tasked with destroying a strategic railway bridge before enemy cavalry can break through, Julian gives the order that every competent officer would have given. Unknown to him, a damaged telegraph line has diverted a hospital train onto the bridge moments before the explosives are fired.

More than two hundred innocent people perish.

Court-martialed, stripped of his commission, and sentenced to twenty years of hard labour, Julian refuses to blame fate, the enemy, or the chain of command. He accepts responsibility for the disaster and begins a punishment that seems certain to consume the rest of his life.

Yet redemption rarely arrives in dramatic moments.

It comes in quiet acts of courage.

In dangerous quarries, shattered rail lines, refugee columns, ruined villages, and among ordinary people struggling to survive a brutal war, Julian repeatedly chooses service over bitterness, duty over despair, and compassion over self-preservation. Every road he walks becomes another step toward answering a question that no court can decide:

Can one terrible mistake define an entire life?

Written in the tradition of the great studio-era moral dramas, The Long Road Home is a powerful story of honor, accountability, sacrifice, and the quiet heroism of those who continue doing what is right long after hope seems lost.

Perfect for readers who enjoy thoughtful military fiction, literary historical novels, and deeply human stories of redemption.

Author: John Bailey
ISBN-13: 9798185282694
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 07/02/2026
Pages: 238
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d