When Union soldier Sean MacBranain awakens to a blond-haired, blue-eyed fae, he figures he must have died on the battlefield. But, as her magic fades along with his delirium, he realizes she is a field nurse serving his beloved 69th infantry.
Upon learning that the wounded corporal saved her hound—the last thing Ashlinn has left of her family—she becomes determined to save his life, despite the danger it presents of exposing her magic. His honorable ways and gentle manner capture a part of her that nothing has been able to since the disappearance of her last brother.
Reluctant to form attachments in the midst of a war where every battle comes with unimaginable casualties, they determine to remain only friends despite the affection growing within each of them. But as the war pushes and pulls them apart, they find their determination waning despite the heartache they know it may cause. Would he love her if he found out the truth? A letter found in the hound's collar from not Sean, but Ashlinn's missing brother, forces them to find out, and brings a danger not even all the guns of the south could muster.