Inman’s long journey from the front lines of the Civil War back to Cold Mountain chart his struggle to cling to morality in an increasingly immoral world. Inman has been traumatized by his experiences in the war. At the beginning of the novel, he has almost recovered from his physical wounds but is still struggling to overcome the psychological trauma of the death and destruction that he has witnessed firsthand. He wants to return to Ada and Cold Mountain, not only because he loves Ada, but because he wishes to return to a more innocent time. He abandons his post and deserts from the army.

In a legal sense, he is committing a crime and acting dishonorably. For Inman, however, the prosecution of the war is fundamentally immoral. He is plagued by memories of the slaughter of thousands of men at various battles. This memory radicalizes him into rejecting his duty; he can no longer fight in a war that means nothing to him. To Inman, desertion is an honorable act, the first of many that he will conduct throughout his journey. Inman is guided by his morality and his conscience—this, he believes, is the only thing left that separates him from the terrors he has seen.