In western Pennsylvania, prior to the Civil War, conflict is seething beneath the peaceful lives of most people. Slaves are escaping through towns along the Mason-Dixon Line and citizens are being forced to pick a side as the tumult begins. At Fort Bedford, in this work of fiction, the militia prepares for the coming war as the people hope fervently that it can be avoided. Several unpredictable twists show the peace and war are never what they seem to be.