In the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War, a Southern woman from a wealthy family, Elizabeth Van Lew, risked her life to spy for the North. She took food and books (often containing secret messages) to imprisoned Union soldiers and helped them escape. She created a spy network and sent valuable military information to Northern generals. Van Lew opposed slavery so much that she bought slaves to free them. Her bravery and her devotion to her country and to freedom made her an American hero.