Duel for honor or sue for damages? Lynch the accused or drag him off to face the Law? Marry the cousin you don't love or find your own way in the world? These are the dilemmas faced as the Old South gives way to modernity at the turn of the 20th century in this novella and six short stories by the once noted, now all but forgotten Sarah Barnwell Elliott. Sada, as she preferred to be called, made her reputation in portraying the local color and dialects of her native south. Along the way she left a group of stories about a clash of the old and the new, particularly in her strong female characters. Hers is a bold voice that speaks clearly across the generations in support of a woman's self-sufficiency.

Bound by duty and honor to her father, the beautiful Helen matters her cousin, Philip Felmere, in hopes that love will follow. That same dedication to duty and honor prevent Helen from following her heart as she meets Felix Gordon. The genuine goodness of Felix brings a spark of life to Helen and inspires her own creativity. Having been raised with logic and reason in an age of faith, Helen is yet attracted to strong faith in others, like Felix. The ongoing battle between faith and reason plays itself out as a struggle within Helen, who ultimately must decide where she stands. This first Sarah Barnwell Elliott was well received and very favorably reviewed on its first publication in 1879, with two more printings following.