Jake Roedel and Jack Bull Chiles are friends in Missouri in the American Civil War when the American Civil War breaks out. During the mayhem, Chiles' father is murdered by Kansas pro-Union Jayhawkers. The two men join the First Missouri Irregulars, also known as the Bushwhackers; informal units loyal to pro-Confederacy units of Confederate government of Missouri in 1861. They later meet George Clyde and former slave Daniel Holt, whose freedom Clyde has previously granted.