Lance, a large black and white Newfoundland dog comes from a long line of dogs that have saved people from drowning. He has no doubt that he can protect his new owners as well: My Lady and her two grown children, Lucilla and Warner.

But then he hears of something new that everyone in Charlottesville, Virginia, is talking about—war. The plantation home where he lives changes from a sleepy world of frequent guests discussing the latest crops, to heated talk about the coming conflict. The neighbors are sure the Confederates will win in only a short time.

Lance’s family members are too old to fight, but after the first Battle of Manassas, when the wounded Confederate soldiers arrive by the hundreds to be treated in Charlottesville hospitals, the whole world changes. My Lady busies herself with sewing bandages and supplies for the soldiers. Warner prepares crops to be sent to local hospitals, and Lucilla and Lance begin the most important task of all: caring for the injured boys, twenty thousand by the war's end.

In March of 1865, the Union soldiers come. The town of Charlottesville surrenders, but not without learning important lessons.