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...