This historical fiction is inspired by a true event. Billy Laird, from Berwick, mustered in the 17th Maine to serve with his friends in the Union Army. Mentally challenged, Billy is ill-prepared for the training and fighting that follows, but he gets by with the help of his friends. Soon, however, he is sent alone to a different unit. Frightened and unsure of what to do on his own, Billy runs off and meets up with a runaway slave, Elijah. Together they make their way north on a perilous journey from Virginia to Maine. Aided by compassionate Quakers and the Underground Railroad, Billy and Elijah make it to Maine, but not the sanctuary they sought. Betrayal awaits one, a solemn promise awaits the other.