When Eldon MacCauley, a young Scottish immigrant, is wounded in a Civil War skirmish, he is nursed back to health by Sarah, the daughter of a West Virginia farmer, who confesses her love for him, as he leaves for the Western Frontier to escape the war. Sarah gives Eldon her very best horse on which to make his journey.

Eldon rescues a young slave boy from his brutish master and travels to St. Louis with him, where he finds employment driving a stagecoach between Hannibal and St. Joseph, Missouri. Going against all conventions of the day, a black minister officiates, when Eldon marries a schoolteacher. It’s Eldon’s slap in the face for the local bigots. When the railroads put the stage line out of business, Eldon is offered a proposition by the local banker to become part of a business venture that will take him to Texas.

The war has ended, the slaves are freed, and Eldon leads a wagon train of freed slaves to Texas. The young black boy, who has never known any name but "boy," is nearly a man and has taken on the name of his hero, Abraham Lincoln. Not only do they have to fight their way to Texas, but it seems to be one long struggle against local racists, including Abe being beaten nearly to death. Eldon takes the law into his own hands to end the torture and rape of young black girls by the same brothers who tried to kill Abe.

Eldon has first a son, then a few years later, his wife, Becky, dies giving birth to their daughter. After several years in mourning, Eldon, who has become quite wealthy, returns to West Virginia with his children in search of Sarah. Though he dearly loved Becky, he has never forgotten the woman who saved his life and gave him a chance to escape the war.

They indeed find Sarah, who has never married, and she quickly accepts Eldon’s proposal to return to Texas with him, as his wife. The story ends with only Eldon and Abe surviving, and Eldon, now an old man, lies in the hospital near death. With Abe having always called him Mister MacCauley, they reminisce about their lives and Eldon asks his life-long friend to just once, call him Eldon … please.

While being a truly enchanting love story and the story of a man who did the right thing despite popular feelings, this story is historically accurate and portrays things as they really were in our country in the mid to late 1800s.