The Haskins family moved from Virginia to Missouri in the 1830s. Virgil, the eventual patriarch, was a successful horse breeder. Despite his success and marrying the love of his life, Virgil had a dark side that proved to be his undoing in Virginia and almost cost him his life in Missouri. This book chronicles the family's origins in Virginia, its unexpected move to Missouri, and the effects that the Civil War had on family dynamics.

This book is the fourth in the author's "Lineage" Series. Although it is a standalone novel, it has connections to both Books One and Three in the series.