As her family travels from Vermont to settle in California, in the early 1850's fourteen-year-old Luanna learns to accept life for what it is, no matter where.

Obi escapes from slavery during the Civil War, joins a black Union regiment, and soon becomes involved in the bloody fighting at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

Follows the exploits of cadets and officers at West Point where such graduates as Ulysses S. Grant, George Armstrong Custer, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson fought on both sides of the battle lines during the Civil War.

Surveys the history of American newspapers and how reporting techniques and perceptions have changed over the years.