The book dramatizes the plight of abolitionist Quakers living in

eastern North Carolina during the Civil War. As the war rages from

1861 to 1865, both Union and Confederate forces tramp through the

region to destroy whatever they come upon and confiscate, as the

war drags on, anything of value. A Quaker family entrenched in

rural tradition and a faith emphasizing peace quietly resists the brutality

of war but is made to suffer. As Southerners, Union soldiers see them

as the enemy. As abolitionists going against the grain of Southern

culture, Confederate soldiers despise and harass them. When they

refuse to pay the exemption tax, their men are required to go into the

army. Refusing to bear arms, their mettle is severely tested at Gettysburg

and Petersburg. The book is about courage and endurance in the maw

of adversity. It is closely based on historical fact, Confederate records,

and Quaker tradition.