Sitting in a jail cell on the eve of his hanging, freedman Persimmon “Persy” Wilson wants nothing more than to leave some record of the truth --- his truth. He may be guilty, but not of what he stands accused: the kidnapping and rape of his former master’s wife. Fifteen years earlier, Persy had been sold to a sugar plantation; his deep and instant connection with a house slave named Chloe fueled a love affair and inspired plans to escape their owner, Master Wilson. But on the eve of the Union Army’s attack on New Orleans, Wilson shot Persy, leaving him for dead, and fled with Chloe and his other slaves to Texas. So began Persy’s journey across the frontier, determined to reunite with his lost love.