A stunning debut novel of love, family, and justice that intertwines the stories of an escaped house slave in 1852 virginia and ambitious young lawyer in contemporary New York virginia, 1852. Seventeen-year-old josephine...A stunning debut novel of love, family, and justice that intertwines the stories of an escaped house slave in 1852 virginia and ambitious young lawyer in contemporary New York virginia, 1852. Seventeen-year-old josephine bell decides to run from the failing tobacco farm where she is a slave and nurse to her ailing mistress, the aspiring artist lu anne bell.