A novel with many heroines. . . Some are black, some white; some are babies and some grandmothers. What they have, in common is Cassidy, a wealthy and merciless plantation owner in the pre-Civil War American South, for whom the black women are slaves and the white women are concubines. Their story is the story of thousands of women of their time and place, until they put their heads and hearts together to plan a daring escape. Guided by streams and mountains, helped in their arduous journey by native Americans, sustained by their own vision of a better life, the unlikely band of women and children pushes northwest to make their new home. Still they are not free of the powerful Cassidy, determined to reclaim what he believes is his property. Their story is a tribute to the strength of women everywhere and a passionate statement about human freedom and dignity.