Twelve-year-old Patsy keeps a diary of the ripe but confusing time following the end of the Civil War and the granting of freedom to former slaves.

Born with a withered leg and hand, Pascal, who is about twelve years old, joins other former slaves in a search for a farm and the freedom which it promises.

"Carrie and her housemates battle cholera in Philadelphia. Her world is turned upside down when she discovers the truth of her heritage. Will it completely change her path? Robert watches his dreams fade before his eyes when he refuses to align himself with southern beliefs after the war. Rose has to face down a new threat, and Moses is forced to step into the role he has avoided. Janie has agreed to marry Matthew, but can she actually move beyond...

America continues the struggle to become a country for everyone... Carrie and Janie face the challenge of a horse plague that sweeps through America. Thomas, Anthony and Matthew go on an extraordinary adventure that reveals the truth to a stunned country. Peter and Elizabeth are once again faced with their greatest fear. Felicia begins to find her way after graduation. Matthew is pulled once again into a violent event that changes America forever....

Another chapter in the lives of Carrie, Janie, Rose and Moses, Florence Robinson, and Felicia as they work to rebuild their lives in Virginia during the United States' Reconstruction.

"The bloody Civil War has ended at last, and Marshal Ridge Parkman is looking forward to visiting his family at last in exhausted, war-torn western Missouri. But no sooner has he settled in to relax and catch up on things, than whimsical fate drops a mission in front of him that he can hardly ignore. The next thing he knows, he's on a steamboat heading down the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. His assignment is to track a father-son team who are fleeing...

"At the end of the Civil War, an escaped slave first returns to his old plantation and then walks across the ravaged South in search of his lost wife"--Provided by the publisher.

Can America survive the struggle to rebuild? Carrie and Robert's dream comes true, but is Carrie strong enough to survive what comes next? Rose's school comes under attack by vigilantes. No one could have predicted what will happen next. Abby makes the choice to go to Kansas to fight for Woman Suffrage, and almost pays the ultimate price. Violence and hatred run rampant through the country as America tries to come to grips with 2,000,000 freed slaves....

Virginia records the events of her life as her family moves to New York City in the aftermath of the Civil War, and she begins to dream of a life in the theater.