North and South

The ebb and flow of war has begun with victories and defeats on both sides. Brett and Semiramis make it safely back to Mont Royal, after a dangerous encounter with Northern troops. When Orry hears of what happened at Mont Royal, he rescues Madeline and they are soon married. Virgilia meets Dorothy Dix who accepts her as a nurse on the basis of Congressman Sam Greene's recommendation. Orry needs to stop the blockade runners and is almost captured by a Northern patrol. By the purest luck, he meets George on the trail. Elkanah Bent has ambitions of megalomaniacal proportions and has every intention of gaining power in the South. He fully expects Ashton to be at his side. A woman scorned puts him out of business for a while. Charles is wounded and makes his way to Augusta Barclay's farm where he recuperates. At Lehigh Station, Stanley Hazard, egged on by his ever ambitious wife and against his better judgment, gets involved in shady deals.

Hearing about her mother's injury, Brett and one of the Main household servants, Semiramis, make the dangerous trip from Washington, D.C. to the Main plantation in South Carolina. Along the way, Semiramis is captured by Union soldiers, but rescued by Brett. Orry leaves Richmond and returns to South Carolina as well; he finds Madeline at Justin's plantation and kills Justin in a fight. Orry and Madeline finally get married. Orry discovers Bent's illegal smuggling enterprise and stops it by capturing Bent's blockade runners, arresting his men, and destroying most of his merchandise. Bent and Ashton vow revenge. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, George's older brother Stanley takes over the family's steel factories. His greedy wife Isabel talks him into profiteering from the war by using cheap, low-grade iron to make cannons for the U.S. Army; the cannons often explode and kill Northern soldiers. They forge George's name on the documents, in case the cannons are traced back to Hazard Iron.

By September 1862, the South appears to be on the verge of victory. President Lincoln wants to emancipate all slaves but recognizes he needs a victory on the battlefield before he can do so. Disatisfied with his current commander, he sends George Hazard to sound out Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on whether he would take on overall command of the Northern forces. After Salem Jones kills a runaway slave from Mont Royal, the family decides to offer safe passage to any of their slaves who wish to leave. Soon after, Ashton arrives and is shocked to find Brett and Madeline working in the fields. She also reveals to Madeline that she knows her great secret which she will make public unless she leaves. Virgilia is now working in a Union field hospital and is admonished by the chief nurse, Mrs. Neal, to treat all soldiers the same. Charles and Billy come face to face on the battlefield.

Ulysses S. Grant is made commander of the Armies of the Potomac and is having an immediate effect, but at a very high cost in terms of casualties. George Hazard, now a Brigadier General, has received his long sought after field assignment but is taken prisoner and transported to Libby Prison in Richmond. There he meets the prison warden, Capt. Thomas Turner who will go to any length to be obeyed. Having been admonished by Mrs. Neal, her superior at the field hospital, to treat all soldiers will equal care regardless of what side they are fighting on Virgilia finds herself in trouble after one of them dies and she is charged with murder. She again turns to her protector, Congressman Sam Greene, for help and is now ready to pay the price he demands of her. Now living under a false name, Madeline makes the acquaintance of a handsome rogue. Orry meanwhile has hired a Pinkerton's detective to try and track her down. With States-rights advocates continuing their battle with President Davis over his ever-growing authority, Elkanah Bent sees himself as the future President of the Confederacy and recruits James Hontoon to be his Vice President.

Charles and Orry set out to rescue George Hazard, who is being held at Libby Prison in Richmond. They make sure he gets back to Union Lines and he makes it home for Christmas. As he recovers however, he learns that a warrant has been issued for his arrest for selling faulty cannons to the Army. He goes after Morgan the black marketeer and his brother Stanley does the right thing. At Mont Royal, Brett has an unfortunate encounter with Salem Jones. Madeline has been continuing her good works in Charleston helping those living in the shanty town and gets Rafe Baudeen's help when a group of young boys are take to dig rifle pits for the army. Elkanah Bent continues to dream of taking control of the Confederacy and gets Ashton to sleep with a contributor. Bent has a large stash of ammo and powder but Orry is soon onto him. An exhausted Charles visits Augusta Barclay.

The war has turned against the South. Orry and Charles save George from Libby Prison, kill Turner in a fight, and allow George to return to the North. Madeline helps starving people in Charleston. Returning home, George learns of his brother and sister-in-law's illegal business schemes to use cheap iron to build cannon, and forces Stanley and Isabel to admit guilt. Bent tries to kill Madeline in Charleston, but she is rescued by her gambler friend Rafe, who saves Madeline but is fatally shot by Bent. Bent enlists James Huntoon for help in his plot to overthrow the Confederate government. Although he is still oblivious to Bent's and Ashton's affair, Huntoon acts as a double agent gathering intelligence on the planned coup d'état and reporting the activities to Jefferson Davis. The Confederate President orders Orry to squash the planned revolution. In a final fight, Orry and Huntoon attack Bent's hideout near Richmond. Bent is (apparently) killed when the ammunition he was hiding in a barn explodes. Ashton confesses her affair to James, conspiring to have Billy killed, her past abortion, and tells Orry that she helped Bent drive Madeline away. Orry disowns Ashton and tells Huntoon that he never wants to see his sister again. Ashton begs Huntoon's forgiveness, but he tells her that it is too late.