Orry and Charles, now officers in the Confederate Army, leave the Main family plantation for the war in Virginia. Orry, despite having been against secession, accepts a commission to brigadier general and begins to serve as military aide to Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond. Meanwhile, George and Billy are in Washington, D.C., where they are officers in the U.S. Army. Billy joins the U.S. Sharpshooters regiment, while George also accepts a commission, though only to colonel, and becomes a military aide to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

The ebb and flow of war has begun with victories and defeats on both sides. Brett and Semiramis make it safely back to Mont Royal, after a dangerous encounter with Northern troops. When Orry hears that Justin has abducted Madeline from Mont Royal, he rescues her and they are soon married. Virgilia meets Dorothy Dix who accepts her as a nurse on the basis of Congressman Sam Greene's recommendation. Orry needs to stop the blockade runners and is almost captured by a Northern patrol. By the purest luck, he meets George on the trail. Bent has ambitions of megalomaniacal proportions and has every intention of gaining power in the South, fully expecting his new lover, Ashton, to be at his side. His scorned former paramour puts him out of business for a while. Charles is wounded and makes his way to Augusta Barclay's farm where he recuperates. At Lehigh Station, Stanley Hazard, egged on by his ever ambitious wife and against his better judgment, gets involved in shady deals.

By September 1862, the South appears to be on the verge of victory. President Lincoln wants to emancipate all slaves but recognizes he needs a victory on the battlefield before he can do so. Dissatisfied with his current commander, he sends George Hazard to sound out Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on whether he would take on overall command of the Northern forces. After the disgruntled former overseer kills a runaway slave from Mont Royal, the family decides to offer safe passage to any of their slaves who wish to leave. Soon after, Ashton arrives and is shocked to find Brett and Madeline working in the fields. She also reveals to Madeline that she knows her great secret, which she will make public unless she leaves. Virgilia is now working in a Union field hospital and is admonished by the chief nurse, Mrs. Neal, to treat all soldiers the same. Charles and Billy come face-to-face on the battlefield.

Ulysses S. Grant is made commander of the Northern Armies, having an immediate effect but at very high costs in casualties. George Hazard, now himself a brigadier general, receives a field assignment but is taken prisoner and transported to Libby Prison in Richmond. Having been admonished to treat all soldiers with equal care regardless of what side they are on, Virgilia finds herself in trouble after one of them dies and she is charged with murder. She again turns to Congressman Sam Greene for help and is now ready to pay the price he demands of her. Now living under a false name, Madeline makes the acquaintance of a handsome rogue. Orry meanwhile has hired a Pinkerton's detective to try and track her down. With state's rights advocates continuing their battle with President Davis over his ever-growing authority, Bent sees himself as the future President of the Confederacy and recruits James Hontoon to be his Vice President.