In 1858, Kentucky's slave trade was in its darkest days. But Cassius, a young virile black man, has enjoyed a protected existence at Tanglewood. His best friend is John Livingston, an enlightened individual who chose to set up his land as a haven for the enslaved until emancipation could free them.
Cassius avenges the murder of this kind man and must now escape the hang man's rope.
He flees rapidly with his pregnant wife, son and father to begin a perilous passage along the Underground Railroad. They must outrun greedy bounty hunters as they race northward to freedom.
A safe house on the trail hides another traveler. It is his ex-lover, the mother of his son. Cassius is forced to consider now for whom he is willing to fight. His freedom is at stake, sharpened by the painful realization that they are very much alike. And he remembers too, that Mattie can betray. Cassius is now torn between desire and fidelity -- and the pull of freedom.
All along the risky trail he hears his soul screaming, "You will not die slave, you are free!"