Baton Rouge, 1869. The Civil War might be over, but former slaves Coleman and June have yet to find the freedom they've been promised. Two years ago, the siblings were separated when their old master, Mr. Harper, took June away on a hair-brained quick money scheme to Mexico, where he hoped to escape the new reality of the post-war South. Coleman stayed behind in Louisiana to serve the Harper family, clinging to the hope that one day Mr. Harper would bring June back to him. When an unexpected letter from Mr. Harper arrives, summoning Coleman and the Harper family to Mexico, Coleman thinks...