Out of the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia, blind, wounded and delirious, comes Union Major Rip McKenna. Found wandering the woods, he is sheltered by southerner Katherine Stuart and her hodge-podge family. Tortured by flashbacks, nightmares, and survivor's guilt, McKenna is eventually spirited north, where his body recovers--but his mind does not.

      At last returning to his command, McKenna detours to pay his respects to Katherine, but she and her family have disappeared--refugeed to parts unknown.

                At war’s end, and now a profane, violent drunkard, the haunted McKenna settles in the West. And it is there, in the 'Hell on Wheels' of Cheyenne, Dakota Territory, where he must face his demons in order to rescue Katherine Stuart from a madman who has stalked her across half a continent.