While caring for the family farm and his widowed mother during the Civil War, young Ebenezer Fears dreams of joining his older brothers in the Union Army. Confederate bushwhackers attack their home, stealing everything of value, and Ebby seeks revenge. He joins the army over his mother's objections and is sent on a scouting mission. Someone unexpectedly betrays him into Confederate hands where he overhears plans of a pending attack on a Union supply train-one he knows is guarded by his brother. Ebby makes a daring escape from captivity before he is to be shot. He races through the wilds of Northwest Arkansas determined to warn of the attack but faces a difficult decision when a friend joins him in his flight and is wounded. A merciless bushwhacker, intent on killing Ebby, is relentless in his pursuit and equally determined to prevent the warning.