In the halycon days of the 1850s, Georgia's coastal elite find a retreat in the foothills of Habersham County, where half-Cherokee Mahala Franklin goes nose to nose with arrogant rival hotel owner Jack Randall. Well aware she's not of his class Mahala can't ignore her attraction to Jack any better than she can the clues about her father's murder and the missing gold left to her in his strongbox. Carolyn's life of privilege might seem a lark to Mahala, but Carolyn is expected to overcome her awkward personality and make a brilliant match by choosing between two very different men- rice planter Devereaux Rousseau and his minister brother Dylan. Hidden loyalties are exposed and relationships threatened as Georgia seeks to become its own republic during the Civil War. Faced with taking over his family's shipping firm, Jack must choose between his Northern convictions and his Southern family, while Devereaux tests himself and his feelings for Carolyn on the battlefields of Virginia.