One day in 1862, Yance Cummings returned from a hunting trip on the Staked Plains of West Texas to find his new bride murdered and his cabin burning. Suspecting Comanche raiders of the killing, Yance and his friends track the war band across the plains and extract a terrible vengeance. With no home and no plans for the future, Vance agrees to accompany his friend Mose Hartly and a small band of volunteers to join the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, in the fight for Southern independence.

At a plantation in Georgia and Vance meets Katie O'Bannon. The meeting is brief, but both people feel a sense of attachment for the other that they thought was long dead in their hearts.

The book follows the adventures of the band as they fight in the major battles of the Civil War. Through letters Vance and Katie develop a strong bond despite Yance's feelings of guilt about the death of his wife. In the end Yance discovers a terrible truth about his wife's death from a man he thought was his friend.When the war ends, Yance returns to Texas. Along the way they stop in Georgia and find Katie living in the ruins of her plantation. She joins Yance for the journey to Texas as they look forward to beginning a new life together.