Bartley's Man is about love, repect, and honor, and becoming wealthy in the service of David Bartley, an up-timer with a brilliant mind. It is the journey of Johan Kipper, a reluctant soldier in Tilly's tercio as he collides with the fact of Grantville's existence. Johan decides he doesn't want to be a soldier anymore. So he becomes what he thinks is a servant to David Bartley, young entrepreneur and Delia Higgins' grandson. David and the Higgins family actually treat Johan like a person, unlike the way he has always been treated by the royalty and nobility of his own time. Johan returns this genuine caring with love and loyalty as he watches David grow into manhood and he too, grows as a man.