Young Daniel Wade worked hard to avoid the battling militias in Missouri in 1860. On the one side were those allied with the Southern cause, and on the other, those committed to preserving the Union. When war finally came, however, Daniel had to choose. His decision to join the Union militia estranged him from his father and the family of his sweetheart, Laurel. Now Daniel has returned home on furlough after being wounded, to find his fighting is far from over. Laurel is gone, and the entire area lives in fear, trapped in the iron grip of a gang of ruthless renegades. Will one man be able to break that grip, or will his latest fight be his last?