Though hungering for freedom, the slaves of Dunwoodie Plantation have little to live for: Fourteen-year-old Louise expects a life of total misery after her father, the governor general of Guadeloupe, sells her, and after she witnesses her mother's murder aboard ship. Little does she know David, the lame yet handsome young groom, worships her. His half-brother, Samson, though unselfish and fiercely protective, is the loyal overseer for his master. Abraham, the strong and aloof blacksmith, desperately searches for freedom after avenging his wife's murder.

They know no peace from the master and his family: stern Charles; his eccentric, bigoted wife, Ella; and their spoiled, arrogant son, Edward.

Life may change for all involved with the arrival of a young minister and his wife.