...you're going to stand beside me at the wedding.' Her expression quickly turned solemn and she let loose of my hands. 'We're not children anymore. We can't ignore the reality of our situation. You know I can't possibly stand next to you at the wedding. I'll be lucky enough to watch from the upstairs window.' 'Nonsense! If you can't stand next to me at my own wedding, then I just won't get married!' Growing up in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, a young girl has certain expectations-prim, proper, and passive. Emma Brown, however, is not like most girls. She swims in her Sunday dress, passes the days sitting in a tree, and refuses to fall in love. Like most girls, she has her best friend, Charlotte, throughout it all. But Charlotte might be exactly what's keeping her from living a life like the other girls her age. When Emma leaves home to attend medical school in Pennsylvania, she realizes her family is living with a dangerous secret that could destroy their way of life. Returning to her sheltered world on the family plantation strong willed Emma meets the man of her dreams and will do just about anything to become the proper girl she should have once been. But will he accept the true Emma Brown? When the Civil War impacts the ones she loves, Emma does what any good-hearted, rebellious southerner would-she disguises as a man and goes to the battle field. While nursing wounded soldiers Emma learns that life isn't about following the rules, it's not even about not following the rules-it's about being true to you. And with that she knows there are no Truer Words.