At the outbreak of the Civil War, Luciana Christian lives in Clarks Glen, South Carolina, with her parents and nine brothers and sisters. Early in the war, though, Luciana is kidnapped by a rogue branch of the Union Army.

Forced to live among the people she had always believed to be her enemies, Luciana learns to accept a way of life different from the one she knows.

Along with two other prisoners-of-war, Luciana survives savage battles, a thwarted escape attempt, and the realization that the war showed the nation the ugly side of the human soul.