Twenty-six years ago the Plague plunged the world into a new dark age of primitive anarchy and violence. Armed bands, united by blood or belief, fight for survival and power. Life is war. In the mountains of what was once North Carolina, a 17-year-old girl named Jane proclaims God has called her to save her people from a powerful and brutal enemy, the Restored Government of the United States. Against all odds, Jane inspires an insurgency that battles the Government army to a standstill. Yet on the brink of victory, she is betrayed and abandoned by the leaders of her people and is captured by the enemy. Her story is told by a nameless soldier, assigned to protect her. Initially skeptical, he follows Jane, comes to believe in her, and even falls in love with her. When she is captured, he sets out on a desperate mission to rescue her. Marching As to War is a story about the power of stories, about their power to inspire us to kill and die for a cause, and about their power to heal a wounded soul.

Journey with us in this well known tale that reaches back over many centuries to teach us about Tradition and Change. We watch Ella navigate the difficulty of becoming and then being a woman as an individual, in a complicated family situation, and as a member of the community while society is in flux. Do we have something to learn from her while also being entertained by her story? The story of Cinderella helps us understand how to deal with times of transition and change. We have tender feelings for and deeply held memories of the past, but the present is very real and can often be abrupt. It is NOW. If we honor and bring forward what is best from the traditions of the past, the memories we cherish can operate as a sort of magical solution to help ease the rude intrusion of change and the unfamiliar nature of the present newness, blending what is good from both past and present to create our best future. Ella is an exemplary example as she longs for and even mourns her past, but also faces her very real present, however unpleasant, with poise and ingenuity, forging a bright future.