The story
They know the water better than the men who claim to own it.
Isaac and Nathaniel know every hidden channel, oyster reef, and treacherous mudflat along their home creek. Enslaved since birth, they have spent their lives feeding the plantation that holds them captive.
With the resourceful Hattie, a young drummer named Juan, and a small band of family and friends, they prepare a daring escape. Their plan depends on stolen supplies, a borrowed trickster tale, and the fastest boat their master owns.
But reaching the British is only the beginning. Armed and trained as Colonial Marines, they return through the waterways they know to free the people they left behind. Each successful raid makes a greater victory seem possible. They have heard of Haiti, where enslaved people overthrew their masters. Why should their own homeland remain in chains?
As the fighting carries them toward Washington and Baltimore, their hopes become entangled with an empire fighting for purposes of its own. A song would immortalize the battle for Baltimore, but its promise of freedom was not meant for them.
What does freedom mean if you must leave your home to keep it?