"Moments after Lisbeth is born, she's taken from her mother and handed over to an enslaved wet nurse, Mattie, a young mother separated from her own infant son in order to care for her tiny charge. Thus begins an intense relationship that will shape both of their lives for decades to come. Though Lisbeth leads a life of privilege, she finds nothing but loneliness in the company of her overwhelmed mother and her distant, slave-owning father. As she...

Born into slavery on the island of Saint-Domingue, Zarite, young Tete and her fellow slaves find solace in what remains of the African heritagebut when 20-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives to the island in 1770, he comes to rely on Tete's servitude. Over the course of four decades, Tete learns of humanity's great potential for both progress and crueueuelty.