"She seems like a nice girl," remarked Mrs. Langley, after Mrs. Burke had introduced her to Crystal Burns at the Burkes' barbecue, "And of course her family are quite respectable people; Mr. Burns being in the cotton business and all. Her mother was quite a belle when she was young, just like Miss Burns's younger sister, Alice. But Crystal is pretty. But--doesn't there seem to be a certain eeriness about her? Usually when I look at a girl of sixteen they seem rather light-hearted and gay, as if they had not a care in the world. But Crystal... she seemed so deep and serious... almost foreboding! My, her eyes seem so filled with secrets and thoughts... It doesn't feel right." *** Crystal Burns is a charming young woman living in the south in the 1860s. As war threatens her lifestyle, Crystal must decide whether to hold on to the old, or create the new.