In the aftermath of the Civil War, Josephine
Weatherly and her mother, Eugenia, struggle to pick up the pieces of
their lives when they return to their Virginia plantation. But the
bitter realities of life after the war cannot be denied: their home and
land are but shells of their previous grandeur; death has claimed her
father and brother; and her remaining brother, Daniel, has returned home
bitter and broken. The privileged childhood Josephine enjoyed now seems
like a long-ago dream. And the God who failed to answer any of her
prayers during the war is lost to her as well.
Josephine soon realizes that life is now a
matter of daily survival–and recognizes that Lizzie, as one of the few
remaining servants, is the one she must rely on to teach her all she
needs to know. Josephine’s mother, too, vows to rebuild White Oak … but
a bitter hatred fuels her.