For 16-year-old Hattie Rood, Mr. Lincoln's War has brought nothing but death and hardship. She has lost one brother to a Yankee sharpshooter, another is away fighting with the Confederate army, and her aging father is barely able to keep the family tobacco farm going. One hot August night in 1864, Hattie's life takes another dramatic turn when rebel bushwhackers bring a wounded Jesse James to the Rood farmhouse, to recover or die. During the next four weeks, as she nurses 17-year-old Jesse back to health, Hattie learns about herself, the lawlessness of war, and— most importantly— the character of the wounded boy she comes to love.

Based on actual events, Up From Thunder explores the uniquely savage Civil War in Missouri —a conflict that pitted guerillas led by men like "Bloody Bill" Anderson and William Quantrill against Jayhawkers and often unscrupulous Federal forces. It also examines the ways in which these desperate events and personalities shaped the lives of young Missourians like Hattie Rood, caught in the crossfire.

The seed of Salzer’s novel was a short story entitled “Cornflower Blue,” for which she received the 2009 Spur Award (Western Writers of America) for Best Short Fiction.