The Civil War has been raging for nearly four years, and Daniel Willoughby can't wait to turn eighteen and join Abraham Lincoln's army. It was a promise he made to his mother and father that he wait, but he was itching to not only fight but also try to find his father, who had left home long ago to join the fighting. Before he turned eighteen, however, Daniel meets a new neighbor girl, Emilie, whom he falls in love with. But even she couldn't keep him from joining up. When he does, he quickly finds out that being a soldier isn't as glamorous as he once thought. The moment he enlists, he is relieved of his family rifle and his best friend, a horse named Willow. He is stuffed into a train heading for Tennessee along with hundreds of other soldiers who would eventually come face to face with Confederates after miles and miles of marching. Along the way, he meets Ned, a fellow soldier from New Jersey who was once sweet on Emilie before she moved to Connecticut with her family. Daniel and the others culminate their travels at a place called Bentonville, North Carolina, where the last Civil War battle in the Tar Heel State was fought over three days. While there, Daniel and a childhood friend now a Yankee soldier, Dooley Wilcox, find each other after the Battle of Bentonville ends. They also come across Ed and Elizabeth, who had come to Bentonville for a picnic and to explore the remnants of the battlefield—except Daniel and Dooley, along with Ed and Elizabeth, are in Bentonville some 150 years apart. "Beyond the Path" will keep readers mesmerized and rooting for the four main characters as they tell their stories and try to figure out how it all could be happening.