A young girl and her father, prospering in their new life in Texas, join the volunteers at the Alamo to fight against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna.
After his father dies, John Alexander and his mother are forced to become indentured servants to pay off debts, but find their luck changes after Mrs. Alexander invents a new method for grinding corn.
Young Kentuckian Sam Jones leaves the farm he works with the help of slaves to fight for the Confederacy, while his older brother, Ned, who helps the Underground Railroad, joins the Union Army.
After Daniel Purcell's mother dies in childbirth, his father soon brings home a young woman, named Katherine, as his new wife.
Cammy's dad retells the story of his experiences in the Vietnam War and the fate of a baby girl he found alive under a mat in a ransacked village.
