In a perfect world, young Henry Fleming would have been content to remain on the family farm. But the Civil War shattered that dream, tearing families apart, pitting brothers against brothers, and Henry knows he must enlist to fight in a cause he feels is just. When faced with the brutal truths of war, Henry discovers that a soldier's proud uniform is poor protection against the bite of a bullet or a thrust of a bayonet. Suddenly, he'd give anything to return home.