 Joe Farquhar is a proud Southerner who has been invalided out of the Confederate army. He is now at home, alone since the death of his wife the previous week. He learns from a passing Confederate soldier that the Union army is only a few miles away and Farquahr decides to blow up the Owl Creek bridge. He s caught and immediately sentenced to hang but the rope apparently breaks and he manages to swim to safety. He heads home but is amazed at how easily he has managed to evade troops in the area. Only when he arrives home does he realize exactly what has happened.