On a bitter December day in 1785, silas ballantyne arrives at the door of master blacksmith liege lee in york, pennsylvania. Just months from becoming a master blacksmith himself, silas is determined to finish his appren...On a bitter December day in 1785, silas ballantyne arrives at the door of master blacksmith liege lee in york, pennsylvania. Just months from becoming a master blacksmith himself, silas is determined to finish his apprenticeship and move west. But liege soon discovers that silas is a prodigious worker and craftsman and endeavors to keep him in york.