Laura Eastman, a southern girl living in New York State, is astonished to learn that her relatives are illegally sheltering runaway slaves

Laura Eastman returns to New York after living in the South with relatives for four years to discover that her brother and father are part of the Underground Railroad, helping fugitive slaves to escape to Canada. When a friend brings a runaway slave, Martin, to the house while her father and stepmother are away, Laura must decide what she believes -- and whether she should help Martin escape.