1864, Atlanta has fallen and the vandal hordes of Yankee mudsills are spreading through Georgia on their way to the sea. What is a patriotic young Southern woman, like Mary Cummings, to do? Stain herself dark brown with walnut juice and spy on them, of course. The trouble with walnut juice is that it doesn't wash off. Normally, time would clear Mary's skin, but she doesn't have time. A detachment of union cavalry is on the way to her plantation outside of Covington.