Freeman: A Novel

After General Lee's surrender, Sam, a formerly enslaved man who served in the Union Army, leaves his refuge in Philadelphia and travels on foot through the war-torn South to Buford, Mississippi. His goal is to find Tilda, the wife he was sold away from fifteen years ago, though he knows his chances of success are slim. Prudence Kent, a wealthy white war widow from Boston, is also heading to Buford. She is traveling to honor her abolitionist father's dying wish by opening a school for emancipated slaves. Meanwhile, Tilda is being forced by her owner, Jim McFarland, through the ruins of his farm toward Arkansas. McFarland, a Confederate officer, is searching for a place that will still recognize his claims as a slaveowner. The novel follows these three characters whose paths intersect in the post-Civil War South, exploring themes of love, freedom, and the nation's struggle with slavery and its aftermath.