Book excerpt: John Wilkes Booth's misguided quest to avenge the vanquished Confederacy led him to commit one of the most notorious acts in the annals of America. Four women were integral in his life: Mary Ann, the mother he revered above all but country; his sister and confidante, Asia; Lucy Lambert Hale, the senator's daughter who loved him; and the Confederate widow Mary Surratt, to whom he entrusted the secrets of his vengeful wrath. As their stories intertwine we witness a soul in turmoil-- and a country at the precipice of immense change.