<p>William Clarke Quantrill was a hated name during the War Between the States by the Federals of the Union Army as well as by many non-combatants. Even the high command of the Confederacy distrusted him. But there were others who were passionate sympathizers. He was both friend and mentor‚ but also manipulator and opportunist.</p><p>Alistair Durant was someone who came to know him in all these guises. Durant was a young Confederate soldier‚ captured by the Yankees‚ and released when he took an oath never again to bear arms against the Union. He had a long walk back to his home in Clay County Missouri. It is on this trek that Alistair meets another youngster‚ Beans Kimbrough.</p><p>The two become companions and then friends on the way to Clay County and it is there that Beans will introduce Alistair to a man calling himself Charley Hart. Hart has a fantastic plan — to organize a militia to fight against the Federals.</p>