Hot-tempered Will Spencer is pretty sure of himself when he leaves the small town of Atwater, Ohio to make his fortune as a dry goods peddler. Given his family's history of helping slaves along the Underground Railroad, Will knows he is doing the right thing when he agrees to steal two slaves from a Kentucky farm and reunite them with their brother in Canada. Will becomes confused when he meets slave owners who treat him kindly, and learns that people are not always what they seem. Katherine Ayers' well-researched and easy to read novel portays realistic characters in believable situations. Will's letters to his family are touching, especially when he realizes the horror of the predicament he has gotten himself into. He now knows that good people can do bad things, and vice versa. Doing the right thing can be costly, which Will also learns in the unexpected ending of this this exciting book. NOTE: Ayers is honest in her depiction of slave traders who may force young women to have babies, in order to increase their "stock." ( )