Just before the Civil War in the United States, tensions between the North and the South had stretched rubber-band tight. The agony of slavery snapped the band.
In the South the economy of the cotton plantations depended upon the institution of slavery for existence. In the North the people were divided in uncertainty. The strong voices of the abolitionists grated against the apathy of the unconcerned. Meanwhile, political voices in Washington, garnered from both sections of the country, argued themselves closer to the dividing line. War was inevitable, not only because of strong self-interest, but because there seemed to be no other way to settle differences.
But war affects more than governing bodies. It tears apart people’s lives in a way that cannot be healed. For Amy and Daniel Gerrett, as well as for their friends and loved ones, war brings new struggles and difficult challenges to their values and beliefs.
The year is 1862. For nearly a year the Civil War has been fought in the southeast. In Colorado and New Mexico, for some, the threat seems too distant to talk about. For others—those loyal citizens from the southern states, war is already an immediate and personal trauma. Many young miners must leave the West to go home and fight a war on their own soil.
By March of 1862 the war unexpectedly creeps close to Colorado Territory. Since late 1861 the Texas Rangers have been pushing their way into New Mexico Territory. By the early months of ’62, alarming news reaches Colorado Territory. Fortunately, Governor Gilpin has recruited a volunteer army. The Pikes Peakers are ready to defend their gold and their land. Under the direction of Colonel Slough and Major Chivington, the volunteers head into New Mexico Territory to fight the battle of Glorieta Pass, which sealed the fate of the Confederate Army in the West.
Daniel and Amy Gerrett never realized how easy it would be for a Methodist Episcopal Church clergyman and his wife to end up in the middle of such a war. But Eli and Amelia Randolph, Amy’s father and mother, have gone to New Mexico Territory. As Amy and Daniel set out to find them, they find themselves thrust into the middle of war—personal conflict as well as political.