1862 – Kentucky
When the Secretary of War appoints Dorothea Dix superintendent over the female nurses assigned to the Union Army, any woman who desires to serve must meet strict criteria: She had to be above thirty years of age, wear only plain, dark colors, and have no “ribbons, curls, bows, or hoops” about her person.
Kate Wilkes fits all the criteria but one. Her father always said her curls were so tight even God couldn’t straighten them.
When Kate starts tending the wounded soldiers at the Union Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky, chief surgeon Major James Logan doesn’t believe a battlefield hospital is any place for a woman. His attempts to send her packing only increase Kate’s stubborn determination to serve the wounded men.
Can Kate manage to stay long enough to change Major Logan’s mind?