You would think Cecilia LaRoque has it all: a loving father, wealth, beauty, social position and a devoted suitor. She doesn't. Crushed by a cold and critical mother who soon absconds to live with a dissolute lover, 'Cissy' struggles to prove herself worthy of love and respect. She could not have foreseen in her teenage years that the genteel and privileged life she had led would come to a crashing halt with the outbreak of Civil War, a bitter struggle that would tear her world apart. Despite the hardships and inherent danger, she seizes the opportunity to forge an unorthodox role for herself...

The Man in the Chimney by Betty Vaughn

is a Civil War story of an unlikely and troubled romance between a New York Calvary officer in Union occupied New Bern, and the Lenoir County woman who saves his life.


The War Between the States comes to eastern North Carolina bringing hardships, pillaging, and fear to the local residents. For those left at home the struggle to procure the needs of daily life is all-consuming. For those serving in the armies of both North and South death is a daily companion. Against this backdrop an unlikely and forbidden love affair...