Lavinia Wheeler had watched as war had torn her world apart over the past three years When the Civil War comes to her doorstep, her generosity in opening her house as a hospital brings a change in her life far beyond any blessing she could have dreamed of or asked for.
Changes come with a price: between dealing with the Yankee-hating townsfolk, her former slaves, a passel of wounded Yankees, a government that takes a dim view of people who aid the enemy, and a group of raiders that is ravaging the countryside, Lavinia isn't sure that she has timeto care for herself.
Cavalry Sergeant Asa Sheppard was given the assignment to guard Miss Wheeler's treasures as a way to let him rest from the wound and exhaustion that had nearly sapped his will to live. Dealing with the peppery woman and facing the dangers beside her cures his wounds. He wonders if it will drive him mad.
