Missoo

Ten years before the Civil War, the country was changing. New territories were opening in the West; there was a movement for women's rights; thousands were heading to California to find gold; and the situation of Black people, both free and enslaved, was even worse than before.
In this novel, a young Pennsylvania woman has inherited property in Virginia. She travels there intending to sell the plantation and free the slaves, but her uncle's debts stand in her way. She must stay and make the plantation profitable. The son of a neighboring planter complicates the matter further, leading to a difficult choice.