Just whose side is God on? That's what Austin Hutchinson wants to know! He doesn't seem to be on the side of Austin's friend Henry-James, because Uncle Drayton is set on selling him at the slave auction. Austin's convinced He's not on his side, either, because his plans to help Henry-James escape keep getting spoiled. So when cannon blasts signal the onset of the Civil War, Austin wonders where God fits into all of it. Is Jesus really on his side, as Daddy Elias promised He always would be? And will He help Austin and his family get out of South Carolina without falling into the hands of the Confederate soldiers?