Thomas Hanner Lyle, like so many other southerners, finds himself embroiled in a war that will change his life forever. As a Confederate soldier, he fights in battle while trying to retain his humanity and not damn his soul. During in-between times, he tries to find the beauty in life beneath the shade of cottonwoods by breezy riverbeds.
An incident in battle ushers Thomas from the rank of private to sergeant, but the glory is short-lived...