Virginia's story continues from Book 1 as her family moves from Gettysburg to Washington, D.C. In the final years of the Civil War, Washington, D.C. was an unattractive city full of mud-filled streets, grungy buildings and many homeless soldiers who have deserted the battlefront. Her brother had asked the family to move north so he could take a job as a reporter, but Jed ends up in a low paying job instead. The family faces some tough times that first winter, and Virginia is worried how they will survive. When she takes a job as a housekeeper for a wealthy family, Virginia learns even more hard lessons about what it means to be poor.

The story of Virginia takes readers back to the days when our nation was trying to heal the wounds of war, and deal with the pain of President Abraham Lincoln's death. It was a time of struggle and hardship, hope and rebuilding, and helps to show us what is really important in life.