Virgie (Temple) and her father, Confederate Army captain Herbert Cary (Boles) are a slaveowning family in the Antebellum South.

During her sixth birthday party, Cary learns that the American Civil War has begun and that he must immediately report for duty, leaving Virgie at home.

Cary is nearly caught behind enemy lines by Seargant Dudley (Williams) on a clandestine visit to his family, since the plantation is now in Union-controlled territory.

Union troops arrive shortly after the funeral, forcing Cary to hide in an attic, but he is quickly discovered by Colonel Morrison.

Temple made international headlines when in the context of trying to keep noisy doves on the prison set (which the director explained did not belong in war) she asked "Why doesn't someone make Mussolini stop?"

However, Gibron, echoing most film critics who continue to see value in Temple's work despite the racism that is present in some of it, also wrote: "Thankfully, the talent at the center of these troubling takes is still worthwhile for some, anyway.