A fascinating tale of two brothers from Tanganyika who become enslaved in the ivory trade only to eventually overcome adversity, living as free, but forever separated siblings whose spirits are bonded together in an elegant ivory cane. They become involved in historic events from Zanzibar, and Victorian London, to coastal Connecticut's thriving ivory-processing towns of Ivoryton and Deep River. With the plot of a good mystery, the reader journeys through time as the author brings them to confront the larger questions of post-emancipation Connecticut's involvement with the abomination of slavery and the ivory trade, primarily through the adventures of four modern day students, who, with the aid of a medieval book collection, travel back to the Nineteenth Century to help rectify grave wrongs, only to learn first hand of a surprising relationship as it unravels; exposed by an ivory serpent cane.
The author intimately merges the lives of created characters with historic figures and events, weaving his message while managing to avoid the temptation of overplaying the distasteful drama of slavery, focusing instead on the human side of slaves, responding to their abyssmal condition, and ultimately achieving success in life.