In 1860, David Lofland and his family, residents of Hickory Flats, Tennessee, will relocate to Arkansas. Before the move to Bluffton, Arkansas, David's love, the beautiful Lillie Mashburn, will be enticed to marry the local parson, Reverend Claxton. The long trip to Arkansas will yield even more disappointments. The depressed nineteen-year-old, finding little joy in life, will ultimately join the Confederate Army, in February 1862. He will be sent to White Sulfur Springs training camp to prepare for the war. During the short training period, David will meet two other young men, Lum and Squirrel, and they will become close friends. The three men and the new 24th Arkansas Regiment will be sent to Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post, Arkansas. The heartache of losing Lillie, along with a series of other disappointments that David will experience, will cause him to seriously question his faith and belief in God. If that is not enough, the 24th Arkansas Regiment will suffer serious losses, as the Confederates face heavy odds in 1863. The young Arkansans, upon being captured at the fall of Fort Hindman, will be sent to Camp Douglas, the notorious Union prisoner-of-war camp near Chicago. How can a man so overwhelmed with such grief, bitterness, and tragedy in his life, continue on with a struggle to live?