Jephthah is the son of Jared. Amanda and Jared had gone west and then parted ways. With his ministerial background, he is totally against slavery. The story begins just before the start of the Civil War. He helps the slaves and then goes to work as a reporter for the Kent family newspaper that his aunt Amanda had started. He works in Washington and cares about his children on the Confederate side. Gideon begins to see war as an unpleasant means of solving problems.

The Kent family saga continues with the life of Jephtha Kent and how she compares to Amanda’s son, Louis Kent. Jephthah is the son of Jared. Amanda and Jared had gone west and then parted ways. Their lives took different paths. Their offspring is a contrast caused by these different circumstances.

Jephthah had been a Methodist preacher and later became a newspaper reporter. With his ministerial background, he is totally against slavery. The story begins just before the start of the Civil War. He has three children and a wife whose father is a slave owner. He stands up against the slave system and alienates his mother-in-law from him. His wife thinks Jephthah is unreasonable. He too had inherited a fortune from his father’s gold mine out west, but he didn’t want to touch it. This upset his spouse even more.

They soon divorce over their differences and she remarries. Jephthah loses the faith and respect of her family, including her children. He soon runs out of Virginia due to her views. He leaves the church and starts working on the Underground Railroad. He is helping the slaves to escape from their unjust owners. Not all slave owners were mean to their indentured workers, but there was enough abuse to go around.

Jephthah is transforming into a different kind of person. He helps the slaves and then goes to work as a reporter for the Kent family’s newspaper that his Aunt Amanda had started. He works in Washington and cares about his children on the Confederate side.
He hopes one day to see his children again and reconcile with them. His ex-wife doesn’t care if she sees them again. Jephthah still has hope.

Molly Emerson is Jephtha’s lover and confidant. She cares for him and is worried about his prospects and his declining faith. She encourages him to return to her prayers and his faith in God. She is disappointed when he has trouble getting back in touch with his children. She knows that it bothers him a lot.

Gideon, his eldest son, has joined the confederacy. He puts a girl in Richmond. This girl, Margaret, is against the war while he sees her as all glory. She sees what the war had done to her father while he was in the Mexican War and she doesn’t want that to happen to Gideon. After the battle of Manassas, Margaret’s words begin to affect him. Gideon begins to see war as an unpleasant means of solving problems. It’s a terrible way.

Louis Kent, on the other hand, is an unscrupulous businessman who will do whatever it takes to increase his profits. Michael, whom Amanda had considered family, was taking care of Louis but he didn’t like what he saw. He wanted to respect Amanda’s wishes but it wasn’t working. Louis was out of control. Michael ended up quitting. He couldn’t see how Louis was making contracts with both sides of the war. Jephtha and the Kent family banker plan to expose him so he stops what he’s doing. He can see how the different personalities within the Kent family develop during the early part of the 1860s.