It started with St. George.

Not the legend — not the dragon or the princess or the white horse. The real George. A Roman tribune in the third century who stood before Emperor Diocletian and refused to sacrifice to gods he didn’t believe in. He had everything a man could want — rank, reputation, a career most soldiers would kill for. And he threw it all away for nine words he wouldn’t unsay.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that.

I wasn’t trying to write a book. I was sitting in my favorite chair late one night, long after the kids were in bed — and while three of my ten kids are still at home, “long after the kids are in bed” is practically tomorrow — scrolling through the noise that passes for public conversation these days. And a question surfaced that I couldn’t shake:

Where are heroes like George today?