When Union Army units occupy eastern North Carolina during the Civil War, wealthy young Lieutenant Caleb Miller, heir to a fortune, meets beautiful Rachael Lawrence, a poor local dirt farmer's daughter. Though technically enemies, they fall madly in love and illicitly conceive a son. Caleb is killed and Rachael goes north to prove inheritance rights for her infant child. While there, Rachael also formulates a plan to succor suffering Confederate soldiers held in Union prisons. The turmoil of war and human emotions together form the basis for this story of intense love, tragedy, grief, hatred, deception, culture clash and the degradation of human bondage