In March 1865, the long and bitter War Between the States is winding down. Until now, 23-year-old Simon Boudlin has evaded military duty. But following a barroom brawl in Victoria, Texas, he finds himself conscripted into the Confederate Army. Luckily his talent with a fiddle gets him a comparatively easy position in a regimental band. Weeks later, Simon and his bandmates are called to play for officers and their families from both sides of the conflict. There the quick-thinking, audacious fiddler can’t help but notice Doris Mary Dillon, an indentured girl from Ireland, who is governess to a Union colonel’s daughter. After the Confederate surrender, they go their separate ways. But Simon cannot forget the fair Irish maiden, and vows that someday he will find her again.