Stalemate begins in 1850 and carries on through the 1870s. It traces two generations of the Drake family. The backdrop is the Civil War, and it is written as an alternate history. In this story, the North does not win the Civil War. Instead, the North and South fight to a draw or stalemate. The southern states form the Confederate States of American and become a separate country.
Tom Drake starts out as the young Governor of South Carolina. He begins a campaign to modernize the south to the point it can survive a war with the North. His sons become Generals for the CSA.