Young former slave Jake Patterson heads north after the Civil War in search of the father he has long resented, meets two young women--one white and one also a former slave--trying to keep a plantation alive, and finds love, but a dangerous secret catches up to him.

Fire. It had ripped Seffie from her family and stolen her dearest friend. Will she allow it to destroy her one chance at happiness? Growing up a slave, Seffie served as companion to a sickly white girl and learned to read and write and even speak French. But her life of relative comfort soon comes to an end. When loss and tragedy drive the joy from her life, Seffie quickly learns to guard her heart and hide her past. Secretly, Seffie nurtures a new...