With strict penalties enacted under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, widow Olivia Pratt makes a promise to her troubled sons to close her safe house, a station that has harbored numerous runaway slaves for years before her husband’s death. When a desperate runaway appears needing shelter, her heart won’t let her refuse. As family turmoil grows, sadistic slave catchers arrive in town to search for the fugitive.

Olivia must face the deadly consequences of her broken promise to her family when the catchers terrorize her daughter, ignite murderous rage in one son, and leave another near death. Still, the slave catchers are determined to collect their bounty. What follows is both a heart-breaking and heart-warming story of a family healing from grief, terror, and destructive secrets, and set free to love and hope for a better future.