Abstract:
From John Brown=s raid at nearby Harpers Ferry till Appomattox, Maryland families struggle to cope with catastrophic events.

The Horines plot secession and send three sons to the south, only to have tragedy strike as two are killed and the father dies of shock. The widow Fraley loses her oldest boy at Antietam, and fights to endure when his younger brother joins the Maryland militia.

Partisan warfare and occupying armies cause havoc among the families, until the war=s end foretells a startling, uncharted future.