Includes bibliographical references.

"Sunflower Sisters is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical figures, are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real : As we roamed the neat brick streets of Charleston, past filigreed fences and palmetto trees, the atmosphere so gentle and refined, we never dreamed we'd stumble headlong into hell. Mother, my sister Georgy and I had come from New York City to visit friends. We stepped out to make our morning calls, admiring the pretty houses, one fanlight-windowed vestibule handsomer than the next. We left Mother's ecru cards on the silver trays. Mrs. Charles Woolsey 8 Bervoort Place, New York City"--

1859. When war ignites the nation, Georgeanne "Georgey" Woolsey follows her passion for nursing during a time when doctors considered women a bother on the battlefront. She and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Gettysburg and witness the unparalleled horrors of slavery as they become involved in the war effort. In the South, Jemma is enslaved on the Peeler Plantation in Maryland; her sister, Patience, is enslaved on the plantation next door. Both live in fear of LeBaron, an abusive overseer who tracks their every move. When Jemma is sold at the same time the Union army comes through, she sees a chance to finally escape-- but only by abandoning the family she loves. -- adapted from jacket