Sassy 18 year old Alice doesn’t know if she can take being shut up with her dried up mother in law one second more. Her handsome new husband Charlie has gone off to fight in the Civil War on the side of the Union and left her in the care of his mother, a sour old lady who thinks Alice is too flighty and flirtatious. Alice’s story is told through a series of letters to her sister, where she complains about her mother in law, gossips about neighbors, worries about Charlie and shares quilt patterns. And Charlie isn’t the only one seeing action. In his absence, Alice contends with homeless vagrants, food shortages, and even accusations that she is being untrue to Charlie with a local man of ill repute. But through it all, Alice tries to stay hopeful that one day her solider boy will come walking home again. An earthy read with a little old fashioned scandal that will show you a side of the Civil War your textbook didn’t cover.