The Civil War is the backdrop for this story of interracial love, romance, and adventure. Meet the Duvall family of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Faren, a female slave in the Duvall household, dreams of being free. Sean Duvall, the oldest son and heir, falls in love with a black woman at a time when this was not acceptable. Henri, Sean’s father and patriarch of the family, has loved Faren’s grandmother, Louise, who has been a household slave for over forty years. Faren leaves Louisiana for Paris at the beginning of the war to accompany her mistress, Henri’s daughter Renee Duvall. On the way to France, their ship is blown off course by a storm and Faren is swept overboard. When she awakens, she is in North Africa, where she finds that she is still a slave, but in the harem of a prince. Selim, son of the former Sultan of Morocco, falls in love with Faren and she becomes his wife. Renee Duvall finally arrives in France, to stay at the home of her aunt. She falls for a charming Frenchman, Gerard de Montfort, who is hiding a dark secret. After their marriage, Gerard becomes envoy to Morocco, where Renee’s former slave Faren is living. Renee’s husband begins to mistreat her and she turns to Faren for help. Back in Louisiana, Sean and his best friend become soldiers in the Louisiana regiment, but they get captured at Gettysburg. The loves and lives of these young people take divergent paths, yet all seek fulfillment during hard times.