Abena is a rebellious Ashanti girl sold into slavery on the notorious Transatlantic route from West Africa to Jamaica. Mungo is an English orphan who becomes a cabin boy, only to be kidnapped and sold as a white slave. Fate brings the two together and Mungo, risking life and limb, saves Abena from a terrible death. Together they escape and set out towards the Blue Mountains - where rumours tell of a stronghold of runaway slaves ruled by a legendary leader called Nanny. But can Abena and Mungo slip through the hordes of Redcoats and baying bloodhounds sent to drag them back... ? Based on historical events, the novel unflinchingly describes the conditions of black and also white slavery in the 18th century, when profits took precedence over human life, and ends on a strong note of hope.