Headstrong, beautiful Tina has nothing but disdain for her Aunt Charlotte. Tina does not think that her aunt has any understanding of a young girls heart, but Charlotte knows more than Tina thinks. For unloved, unlovable Aunt Charlotte is really Tina's mother, whose romance with a Civil War soldier who didn't return resulted in Tina's birth.

Based on the true story of Anna Ella Carroll, a self-taught lawyer and politician and unofficial member of Abraham Lincoln's cabinet who was unrecognized for her accomplishments during the American Civil War.