An eleven year old boy is cast into the path of the advancing Union army in the closing days of the Civil War. Dudley is asked to ride to warn the caravan of wagons bearing the family and its salvaged goods. Sherman is headed for their hiding place. To reach them, Dudley must cross the flooded Catawba River. To find a crossing he must travel through areas controlled by the Union, and to cross the river just ahead of the main body of Sherman's Army. The recounting of this boy's adventures is a true family story, told through the eyes of the boy. The events are all real; only the conversations are invented to flesh out the drama.