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John Gore is eighteen years old in 1862 rural Kentucky. He has struggled his entire life with stuttering and the ridicule associated with it. Unable to speak well, he has focused on writing. Seeing the opportunity for advancement in the military--and with it, respect--John joins the Union army. Unfortunately, his stuttering prevents him from warning a friend of an enemy attack and John watches his friend die. He is racked with guilt and the fear that others saw him fail at the key moment . . . a fear that proves prescient.John soon meets a girl, but they must forge a friendship and then courtship through letters, allowing him to express to her what he can't say in person. Meanwhile at home, John's impetuous younger brother causes trouble with garrisoned Union troops angry at Southern sympathizers.