Living with her uncle's family on a southern plantation in the mid-nineteenth century, motherless eight-year-old Elsie finds it difficult to establish a relationship with her worldly father who seems indifferent to her religious principles.

"As Elsie Dinsmore grows up and becomes a young woman, her family undergoes major changes. Her father, Horace Dinsmore, falls in love and marries sweet Rose allison, whom Elsie has loved since childhood. Soon two new members--Horace, Jr., and Rosebud--join the happy family. Elsie spends a summer with her eccentric Aunt Wealthy and experiences the joy of first love and the dep pain of betrayal. In an attempt to cure her broken heart, Elsie's family...

Elsie and Edward take great delight in their burgeoning family. The aftermath of the Civil War provides them with many opportunities to uphold their heritage and faith in practical ways, but are caught up in a campaign against a powerful adversary -- the Ku Klux Klan -- as they fight to protect the innocent from unjust persecution.