Trace Burdette is a Texan who fought for the Union. He returns to claim the farm left to him by his brother who died in a mysterious accident.
Trace meets Anne Michaels, his brother's sweetheart and learns she is pregnant. He marries her to save her reputation.
Regina Mills, a young woman from Indiana, is recruited by the Freemen's Bureau to teach the Negro children. She decides to live at the hotel owned by Anne's father. She and Anne become good friends.
With the Klu Klux Klan terrorizing the country side, and a yellow fever epidemic raging through Texas, Trace and Grady, his partner, are caught up in the turmoil.
The obstacles Trace and Regina face are finally resolved. Th e north won the war but it was a bitter victory.