It is February of 1865; The Civil War has been going on for five years now.
Flaxen-haired and blue-eyed Miriam Hanner Clarke is widowed at age twenty-eight after her husband, Burton, went to serve in the war and was killed in battle.

She fills her days of dealing with his loss by working in the dormitory, which has been turned into a hospital. No longer the quiet, shy, stuttering girl she was when she arrived, Miri is now a competent young woman who is determined to ease suffering in any way she can.
But she is certainly unprepared for the challenge of caring for Captain Nate Alley; the recipient of a gunshot wound, now under her care.


Captain Alley has no patience for being injured. He is quite accustomed to being in control and in charge and having others submit to his leadership. When challenged by this tiny, independent and stubborn young woman who is half his size, his first instinct is to put her over his knee. Growing stronger each day, he is determined that she will submit – she is just as determined not to. 
Who is going to win this battle?