Willowland Manor is nestled inside sprawling cotton fields and patches of dense, Mississippi woodland. Ten years ago, the Civil War came to its bloody finish, freed the slaves, and brought ruin to the manor-burnt fields, expensive labor, and the death of two of the three Wayland sons. William, the manor's master, is desperate and struggling to keep his plantation running. Abigail, the mistress, cannot cope with her new life without slaves,...