November 30, 1864. A brutal battle in Franklin, Tennessee all but decimates the Confederacy and nearly kills Captain Roland Ward Jones. Despite the severity of his wounds, Jones believes his life will be spared. But a life without his leg he can't abide. He compels Elizabeth "Lizzie" Clouston-- governess to the McGavock family at the Carnton mansion-- to intervene should the surgeon decide to amputate. When a fourteen-year-old soldier dies in Lizzie's arms that night, the boy's final words demand that Lizzie deliver them to their intended recipient. How can she set out alone across a land so divided by war and hatred to honor her pledge? -- adapted from back cover