When the Civil War breaks out in the year 1861, everything changes: schools close, families flee, and young men head off to battle. India Moody's mama and pa send her for tutoring with their neighbor Emory Trimble, a brilliant young scientist who teaches the eager India chemistry and biology rather than the scriptures and handwriting young ladies are expected to learn. But as the powerful Union army advances toward northern Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, India and her family realize they may be caught in the crossfire. When India's ailing pa returns to the front, India must summon courage she didn't know she had to plunge into one of the war's most tragic and terrifying events: the Battle of Sharpsburg. As she struggles for survival, India gets an education in love and loss, the senseless devastation of war, and the triumph of hope in the face of despair. - Jacket flap.