In the fall of 1764, after Kaya and her sister are kidnapped from their Nez Percé village by enemy horse raiders, she tries to find a way to escape back home. Includes historical notes on education and learning among the Nez Percé Indians.
When Kaya and her family join with other Nez Percé and Salish Indians to fish for the red salmon, she and her older sister hope to be reunited with their younger sister, who had been kidnapped some time before. Includes historical notes on the summer activities of the Nez Percé Indians.
In 1825 when Josefina trusts a trader in Santa Fe with an important deal, she makes a surprising discovery about this young American who leaves town without paying her.
In the spring of 1865, Addy finds inspiration from a new friend and chooses a birthday for herself as she and her parents try to shape a new life of freedom in Philadelphia despite the racial prejudice they encounter throughout the city.
When she discovers that Nellie and her sisters have been sent to an orphanage, Samantha, now living with her aunt and uncle in New York City, tries to help her friends as much as she can.
After the Civil War ends in 1865, Addy desperately hopes that her family will be reunited in freedom in Philadelphia, but the future may hold both happiness and heartache.
Addy and her mother forgo their Christmas plans to help the newly freed slaves arriving in Philadelphia during the Civil War.
Addy and Harriet feud over everything, including fund-raising plans to help the families of freed slaves, but tragedy finally forces them to stop fighting and work together.