The year is 1783. Rachel and her family are former slaves. In return for helping the British during the American Revolution, they have been given free passage to Nova Scotia, Canada, where they can start a new life as free people. But Nova Scotian winters are harsh, and money is hard to come by. The family is forced to desperation, living in a shack too small to even stand up in and eating only cornmeal and molasses. How in the world are the three (soon to be four) of them going to survive?