In January 1785, a young African American slave named Elizabeth was put on board the Lucretia in New York Harbor, bound for Charleston, where she would be sold to her fifth master in just 22 years. Leaving behind a small child she had little hope of ever seeing again, Elizabeth was faced with the stark reality of being sold south to a life quite different from any she had known before. She had no idea that Robert Townsend, a son of the family she was enslaved by, would locate her, safeguard her child, and return her to New York - nor how her story would help turn one of Americas first spies into a fierce abolitionist. Robert Townsend is best known as one of George Washingtons most trusted spies, but few know the story of his development into a fierce abolitionist. As Robert and Elizabeths story unfolds, prominent figures from history cross their path, including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benedict Arnold, John André and John Adams; as well as participants in the Boston Massacre, the Sons of Liberty, the Battle of Long Island, Franklins Paris negotiations, and the Benedict Arnold treason plot.