The past can be a cruel specter, and for young Darius Spurgeon, it returns in spades. Living under the iron hand of the company-hired Baldwin Detective Agency in the coal mining town of Paint Creek, West Virginia, striking miners persevere amid horrific violence. After the murder of Darius's irresponsible father, a suspected double informant, at the hands of Baldwin thugs, the strikers go on full alert. Fearing further reprisal, the Spurgeon family-Darius; his mother, Hannah; and little sister, Miriam-flee by train.
Five years later, with the nation cast into a world war, the Spurgeons have met with good fortune. Hannah has reunited with old flame Fulton Sharp, now a multimillionaire industrialist, in Charleston. When a local newspaper feature their rags-to-riches story, the Baldwins get nervous, fearing it will become a damning account of their many atrocities, and take residence nearby with sinister aims.
Complicating matters are Fulton's suspicious international adventures that draw the scrutiny of the government, that and stepson Darius's embarrassing public delinquency with his socialite, feminist girlfriend, April.
This is an unforgettable tale of a family's wartime sacrifices and infighting, a drama of unbridled infidelity and forbidden passion, and each learn in their own way the ultimate cost of redemption.
