Widowed Emmaline McCloskey scans her Tennessee farm, ransacked by the Union Army, and says to her young'uns, "Betsy and Davey, we're leavin'. We're headin' out." Sam, freed from slavery by Nettie, is fleeing Tennessee as well. Will Lantrum, a Pinkerton detective, is tracking a northward trail of his own as he aims to capture Buck and Henry, outlaws who prey on escaped slaves. As the paths of these opposing individuals converge, the stakes get serious. Violence is only a step away while the characters trudge northward. As for Nettie, taught by Harriet Tubman to lead slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad, the handsome and courageous Sam might present an even greater lesson about the boundaries of the heart. Peril and romance dance in the shadows of this tale of dual escapes written in historically rich detail and set in a time of harrowing and often horrifying events. When all seems lost, a quilt block cut in half and an old Negro spiritual bring encouragement.