Eleven-year-old Elizabeth King loves adventure, but living on a Virginia plantation doesn't offer much excitement. But when Elizabeth's favorite older brother sails off to France, her structured life starts to change, and intrigue is not far behind. Her life is turned upside down when war breaks out and her father and older brothers leave to join the army, and then her Aunt Melanie and her three children come to stay with the Kings. Their arrival shows Elizabeth just how much trouble can be found on a quiet plantation. Even so, she does not feel the effects of the war until her father is seriously wounded and sent to a hospital in Washington. In order to see him, Elizabeth stows away in her mother's carriage and finds herself in Washington, in the midst of a British attack, caught in the turmoil of the battle. With the memories of the events in Washington still fresh in her mind, Elizabeth travels to New Orleans to visit her sister, Jane. But when she arrives, she discovers that her sister is gone and that her niece and nephew are in the care of a young French boy. Where has Jane gone? Will the fighting ever end?