on board was a beautiful, tall and feisty redhead named kate waring, a daughter of the south, of a fine southern family. an often troubled young woman who was sitting on this train was finally on the brink of something very good. and what is it about trains? the ease there in that enclosed space of befriending perfect strangers. somewhere along the line between a greeting and good-bye, kate waring's invisible fate jumped its track. and quite unaware of the dark force descending, she disembarked to a future utterly changed. charleston, south carolina. it almost goes without saying is a show piece of american history and southern manners. its charm is deeply embedded as the families who count seven, eight, ten generations here. kate waring was born to one of those families. grew up in a fine, big house along the historic waterfront called the battery.