Soldier's Heart is the fictionalized true story of Charley Goddard, a young volunteer in the Minnesotan armed forces of the American Civil War. Charley is wounded in war and returns home at its close with an affliction called soldier's heart, a form of psychosomatic heart disease that leaves him confined to a life of rest and regular treatments. Charley struggles with depression and suicidal urges before finally making the decision to live his life fully.