Lester McGill is a rural youth from Scott County, Tennessee. He crosses into Kentucky to enlist in a Union regiment, the 4th Kentucky Infantry. During his service throughout the Civil War, he witnesses the decline and eventual collapse of the Confederacy. Through 4 years of war, Lester interacts with Southern civilians, free and enslaved, young and old, rich and poor, that deepen his understanding of the ongoing national crisis and concerns that find their way into conversations among soldiers in camp.

Each time the Army of the Cumberland goes into camp in Nashville, Lester tries to find friends and family that he left behind when he fled from Scott County. By the end of the war, he has accounted for all of them except his best friend Jake, who was still a slave the last time Lester saw him. Jake has his own wartime story to tell when at last he and Lester reunite - north of the Ohio River. They leave behind a region laid waste by armies, guerrillas, and armed lawless gangs. Lester and Jake start from scratch in a land that is new to them, but a prosperous land where there are opportunities unavailable in the South.