Enslaved in Georgia, Pen and Jonas have loved each other since they were children. When they marry, they fear it won't last. They're right. On the eve of the Civil War, their master sells Jonas away to Mississippi.

In 1863, when Pen hears of the Emancipation Proclamation, she takes it to heart. She resolves to find the husband she can't forget. She escapes without a certain destination, without a guide, and without a dime in her pocket. As a runaway, she walks into a world of danger from slave catchers, Confederate deserters, and renegade Union soldiers.

In Mississippi, the Confederate army forces Jonas into service to build fortifications for the city of Vicksburg. Hating the Confederacy, yearning for Pen, he knows he's on the wrong side of the war. When General Grant's army besieges the city, Jonas comes under dangerous fire-but in the Union bombardment, he hears the siren song of freedom.

Will their love triumph, or will death and distance part them forever?