In the winter of 1860, deep in the Smoky Mountains, the Carter family's quiet life is changed forever when a stranger collapses at their door during a blizzard. His name is Elias Turner; a courier carrying a secret message that could shift the course of a divided nation. When Pa offers to deliver the message through the storm, Eliza and her younger brother Jonas are left behind to wait. But as snow buries the valley and danger draws closer, waiting becomes the hardest thing of all. With their mother's steady courage and the help of the wounded messenger, Eliza must find her own strength to protect her family; and the truth; through a winter that tests every ounce of faith they have. Set against the raw beauty of the Smoky Mountains on the eve of the Civil War, The Winter at Laurel Gap is a story of quiet bravery, family loyalty, and the hope that survives even the longest storms.