"It's 1863, and Thomas and his little sister, Birdie, have fled the farm where they were born and raised as slaves. Following the North Star, looking for freedom, they soon cross paths with a Union soldier. Everything changes : Corporal Henry Green brings Thomas and Birdie back to his regiment, and suddenly it feels like they've found a new home. Best of all, they don't have to find their way north alone -- they're marching with the army. But then...

When the iTime app on their phones sends Mel, Bev, and Brandon to Washington, D.C., in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, the youngsters must somehow travel to Gettysburg, make sure what is supposed to happen does happen, save the Union, and be home in time for dinner.

In 1863, as the Civil War approaches her quiet town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, nine-year-old Virginia records in a journal the horrible things she witnesses before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg.