Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three Southern women—two white sisters and one African-American slave—must fight to defend their home and themselves from two rogue soldiers who have broken off from the fast-approaching Union Army. Moses, one of these "bummers" (soldiers sent in advance to forage for food, and find any deserters or survivors), warns Augusta, the elder sister: "William Tecumseh Sherman's coming, burning down everything in his path. Rest assured, it will be cruel."