Wilson steps off the train...and directly into the war. With no other options and conscription looming, Wilson bids goodbye to his beloved Ann and sets out for New Berne, North Carolina to find his best friend and enlist in his company. But the federal fleet and army choose that day to attack the town, and by sundown, Wilson is a refugee. In the ensuing months, he adapts to life as a soldier, experiences the horrors of combat first-hand, and takes on the unwanted burden of leadership as the men above him are lost to death and serious wounds. Follow Wilson as he struggles to hang on to his life, his sanity, and his honor in the maelstrom of America's bloodiest and bitterest war--and make it home to Ann.