July 1864: the Union Army marched into Roswell, Georgia, and burned down the cotton and wool mills, destroying the livelihood of four hundred women. Among them, Rose Carrigan finds a protector in Captain Noah Griffin. Noah assists the displaced women as they are sent to Marietta and wait to be shipped to the North. Events in Marietta bring Rose and Noah together and then tear them apart before the women board the train taking them to Louisville, Kentucky.

Along with the mills in Roswell, the Union Army also destroyed the Sweetwater Mill in Campbell County, Georgia. Lydia Gibson is among those women who are arrested and sent to Marietta. In the house where the Army sent them, the women discover Sergeant Seth Morgan, a Rebel soldier. He falls ill, and they nurse him as best they can. As he improves, sparks fly between Seth and Lydia. But it’s war time, and they are bound for different destinations.

The war has divided Troy McNeil’s family and put him on a crazy path to avoid the Confederate conscription. On a visit to his Aunt Lydia’s, he rescues her stepdaughter Millie from an attacker. Troy and Millie confess their love for each other and succumb to their mutual desire. Circumstances force them apart, then the Union Army arrests and sends them both north– separately. How can they ever find each other? If they do, will their secrets tear them apart?