As the United States wrestles with its besetting sin--slavery--abolitionist John Brown is growing tired of talk. He takes actions that will propel the nation toward civil war and thrust three courageous women into history: Mary, who never expected to be the wife of a martyr; his daughter-in-law Wealthy, whose dream of making Kansas into a free state turns into madness, mayhem, and murder; and his daughter Annie, who guards her father's secrets while risking her heart.