The civilian side of the war is shown from a young girl's viewpoint. Meghan, Grace, and Abigail live through the tense and often terrifying days preceding and during the Battle of Gettysburg. While their father is fighting in the Union army, the girls and their mother are left to face Confederate soldiers who appear on their farm, not far from Gettysburg. They manage to outwit rowdy soldiers by hiding some of their farm animals and food. Their Uncle Tom often mysteriously disappears into the night and returns with news about the enemy's movements. When free-blacks seek refuge at the farm, Uncle Tom secretly transports them north to escape from the Southern invaders. The girls meet and befriend a Southern drummer boy and a Southern officer accompanied by his slave. The family handles the trying times with courage, common sense, and resilience in this story of war times in a border community. Can they suffer through the horrors of war to resume their peaceful life on the farm?