April 1861. Fort Sumter has been fired on, heralding the start of the American Civil War. The Union and the newly-formed Confederacy are both gathering resources and calling up troops, preparing for the first major clashes--particularly in the Border states, which have not yet fully declared for either side: Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland and Delaware. Within each state, Secessionists and Unionists spy and skirmish on each other, seeking to bring them solidly into one camp or the other, no matter the cost. John Lawrence is a staunch Union man, with a deep hatred for slavery. Once a Deputy U.S. Marshal, he abandoned this service two years prior to the war, disillusioned and living a wanderer's life throughout the states of the Old Northwest. When word comes of war, however, his convictions press him to join in the Union's defense, albeit on his own terms. To prove himself, he is given an assignment in Kentucky as a scout and spy, to pursue reports of weapons caches stockpiled by pro-Rebel citizens. But this mission has more dangers than even John knows--including one from his Marshal past which could mean he becomes one of the war's first casualties...