Heaven Hill Plantation, upriver from Georgetown, South Carolina, 1807: Sixteen-year-old Alexandra Degambia balances on a tightrope stretched between her parents' ambitions. Her father, a prosperous African American plantation owner, wants to preserve the heritage of his African ancestors. But her mother, who can pass for white, seeks to distance herself from her African roots and position herself in the elite society of wealthy free-women-of-color. Alexandra longs to establish her own place in the world as an accomplished violinist. She assumes her talent and her family's wealth will pave her way to success-however, her life becomes a nightmare when her mother dies and her father is murdered by prejudiced officials eager to seize Heaven Hill for their own. Alexandra and her little brother, heirs to Heaven Hill, have targets on their backs. They are forced to flee for their lives and for their freedom. What the future holds is uncertain. Sometimes destiny has its own plans.