Home to Milford College Books in Order

In 1844 Ohio, aspiring Black lawyer Lawrence Stewart accidentally wounds Realie Baxter as she escapes slavery toward Canada. Caring for her disrupts his legal ambitions and her journey, bringing two determined people into an unexpected struggle over freedom and love.

While Virgil Smithson serves at Georgia's constitutional convention, Amanda struggles to keep Milford College running. Taxes, inheritance claims, and tensions involving a fellow teacher threaten both the school they founded and the marriage holding their shared dream together.

After her father's death, Oberlin graduate Amanda Stewart travels to Reconstruction-era Georgia to establish a school for formerly enslaved people. Mayor and preacher Virgil Smithson initially opposes her, but educating his daughter requires them to confront their differences.

An assassination attempt on legislator Virgil Smithson forces him and Amanda to reconsider their life in Atlanta. As he searches for his attacker and she raises funds for Milford College, political danger and competing commitments test their marriage.