Three wounded Confederate soldiers are confined to a makeshift field hospital and cared for by Liddy, a black woman. As the men's differing personalities begin to clash, they gradually uncover a dark, common past which has shaped their present, and threatens to destroy their future. They become embroiled in their own personal "civil war," and each struggles with his own form of slavery. Liddy, assumed to be a slave, offers the only key to freedom for them all: the self-denial and humility of the first Christmas. This uniquely American drama is beautiful and powerful.