pThe year 1865 finds Edward behind the lines during the Civil War, where he finds his fatally wounded brother and watches him die, then buries him in the new land.pppp Edward is the owner of a bar and gambling hall in Ohio 1882. An ambitious man, he takes the opportunity to enter politics in Cincinnati. He must give up the woman he has been keeping, for she will taint his new life.pppp Now in 1899, in a loveless marriage to the daughter of a political boss, he banks everything on a mayoral campaign and loses. The birth of his second son, Charles, only serves to further trap him in despair.pppp Charles's story begins in 1917. He is eighteen years old and studying his heart's desire at the Art Institute of Chicago. He is called home by his father, Edward, to serve with his brother and enlist in the Army in World War I. He cannot be protected by his deeply upset mother. He goes to war, giving up his dream of being a painter.pppp In 1925, Charles is a reporter working for a daily newspaper