The book's main character is Eulalia, a young daughter of an
abolitionist from
New England and the wife of a plantation owner named Moreland. At first indoctrinated by her father's views on abolitionism, Eulalia initially condemns her husband's use of slaves on his plantation – even though he is behaving benignly towards them – but she soon realises how well off Moreland's slaves truly are. As time passes, Eulalia also discovers a plot by a group of local abolitionists to stage a large-scale
slave rebellion, with aims to "free" the otherwise-content slaves of the plantation and to murder both Moreland and Eulalia, despite their kindness to their slaves. == Publication history ==