Thirteen year old Emily Dunn is kidnapped from her home and taken to the south to be sold as a slave. Along the way, she meets Mercy and the two become fast friends. In the dark of night, they manage to escape their captors and thus begins a long journey as they try to get back to the north. As they travel, they meet some new friends who help them on their journey, but they are also being pursued by the men who had kidnapped them. Will they ever make it home?