Life is sweet for Mary Carlson. The 20th century is more than a decade old; she is nearly eighteen years old and is finishing up her senior year at Jubilee Junction High School. And she is experiencing her first romance. Charlie O'Connor has started leaving sweet notes for her and has asked for her hand in marriage. She spends time each day filling her lovely cedar chest, the one Papa made for her sixteenth birthday and carved with beautiful roses and vines on top, with pillowcases, towels, aprons, and other items necessary for a new bride starting her home. Soon she will begin work on a new quilt using the double wedding ring pattern. She blushes to think about it. But in the midst of such happy bliss, the war that is ripping Europe apart threatens to draw America into the fray. Congress declares war and institutes a military draft. Will Charlie have to go to war before they can even say their vows? And if he goes, will he ever come back.

In present day, Gracie and her new husband, David, are setting out on a most unusual honeymoon. They are driving cross-country in a Class C motorhome retracing the route taken by the regiment of Gracie's ancestor Michael during the Civil War and visiting the battlefields and historic sites along the way. But before they leave, Gracie gets a call from a relative with a cryptic request.

"Mother gave me an antique hope chest that belonged to Grandma Mary some years back, and I thought it was empty," she says. "But when I cleaned it, I found a false bottom. Beneath it I discovered a bundle of letters, linens, and a pristine wedding ring quilt in the cubby hold underneath. It does not appear to ever have been used."

Now it's up to Gracie to once again investigate the origins of a family heirloom. But not everyone wants the past uncovered. "My Great-Grandma Mary is dead and can't defend herself," declares Aunt Catherine. "Do we really need to dig into all the unpleasant circumstances of her life? Do we have the right?"

Can Gracie find the story behind the red and white double wedding ring quilt, and if she does, what long buried family secrets will she have to dig up?