For Tom Stewart, 1850 was the year his dream of owning a plantation came to fruition. With the financial help of his older brother David, he was able to buy at auction, Cliveden, a 600-acre property on the edge of the Mississippi Delta. Not fully understanding the depth of responsibility that goes with owning and operating a plantation, he has difficulties, which leaves him no alternative but to seek further financial assistance from David.
David, wealthy in his own right, owns a shipping dock in Biloxi, and half interest in a dock in New Orleans. His primary business is shipping and trade, but occasionally dips into the institution of the slave trade, a necessity for keeping a plantation going. Realizing Tom's disadvantage, David barters for the beautiful slave girl, Elizabeth, who works in the kitchen at Cliveden. Wealthy enough to possess any woman freely, what was the underlying force fueling his overwhelming desire for her?
With the impending Civil War over abolishing slavery, plantation owners realized there would be a devastating effect on their businesses of growing cotton and tobacco.
With the blockade of southern ports eminent, David turns to Edward Atchison for advise. Edward his future father-in-law, a prominent figure in New Orleans and wealthy sugar plantation owner in Cuba, advises him to seek the help of an unassuming character in Havana, by the name of Frank. Little did he realize, Frank wielded such immense international connections, stretching from New York, Washington, D.C., Cuba, and beyond. Could he be the solution to one of David's biggest problems?
