Surrection traces the moral evolution of Jabez Cooper, a young man from western Missouri, who is swept by circumstances beyond his control into the violent border war in the late 1850s between Missouri "border ruffians" and Kansas abolitionists. Strongly influenced by his father, he supports the ruffians. Later, during the Civil War, he joins a pro-Confederate guerrilla gang in Missouri along with his friends Frank and Jesse James. Jabez is torn between his loyalty to his outfit and his growing disgust for the brutal, terror tactics used by its leaders. He feels trapped and frozen in indecision. The woman he loves helps him come to know he must choose and not choosing is a choice. Jabez makes a fateful decision and takes a dramatic action.

The novel captures the fraught history of Western Missouri and eastern Kansas during the period from 1855-1864. In addition to its fictional characters, the story features a number of historical characters, including John Brown, Jesse and Frank James, William Quantrill, "Bloody" Bill Anderson, and Arch Clement.