Brevet General Charles Comly McCormick was the son of a hostler who obtained his education from the tutor of his employer's children. His mother was the daughter of a wealthy and influential family whose annual fox hunts drew wealthy people from near and far. The initial story follows the lives of these families, and how Charles came to be engaged to a lady of such refinement, who was already in a marriage to an older man arranged by her parents. The setting is the Paradise Valley in upper Turbot Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. Much of the book contains transcripts of letters written by Charles to his family from various Civil War battlefields and outposts. The letters paint a picture of Charles' life as an officer of the 7th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Cavalry, moving from post to post and waiting for orders to engage Confederate forces. They provide some insight to the difficulty of organizing and integrating the many small cavalries with the federal forces, and coordinating their movements through orders carried by messengers on horseback.