Living in Kentucky prior to the Civil War, Amantha Starr is a privileged young woman. Her widower father, a wealthy plantation owner, dotes on her and sends her to the best schools. When he dies suddenly however, Amantha's world is turned upside-down. She learns that her father had been living on borrowed money and that her mother was actually a slave and her father's mistress. The plantation is to be sold to pay off her father's debts and as the daughter of a slave, Amantha is also to be sold as property. She is bought by Louisiana plantation owner Hamish Bond, and over time she grows to love him, until she learns he was a slave-trader. She tries again to become part of white society but realizes that her future lies elsewhere.—garykmcd