This is the true story of Sarah Emma Edmonds, a Canadian who disguised herself as a man and enlisted as a soldier for the Union during the Civil War. At the time, she was masquerading as a male book salesman and joined the Union army under the name of Franklin Thompson. "He" served as a nurse, spy and general's aide but having contracted malaria in 1863 and on the verge of being unmasked, deserted and resumed female attire.