In the midst of the American Civil War, Rita Goldstein, a beautiful, young cornetist, is abandoned in Cairo, Illinois by her faithless fiance Butch Lassiter, but she is a fierce and determined young woman who is not easily rejected and not easily discouraged. She sets out at once to bring him back and follows The Army of the Cumberland across Tennessee to find him. She is pursued by her heart-broken father, Ira, who wants to bring her home again. On their separate journeys, Ira and Rita are caught up in the hatred and destructiveness of two huge armies, one from the North and one from the South. However, both Ira and Rita find consolation in the power of music.