Living at a frontier crossroads can have unexpected perils, especially when war is afoot. Mel Carroll, an isolated, self-sufficient hill farmer, wants only to plow and harvest, tend to his stock, marry his sweetheart, and live a quiet life in the rugged Ozark country of southwest Missouri. But within a day of the arrival of a northbound Confederate army, his farm is hurriedly transformed into a fortified military camp, and the army that has seized his home and land waits tensely for their enemy to arrive.

After the Union forces arrive, Mel witnesses three days of desperate fighting,...