Eleven-year-old Allen Jay knows that his parents hide dark-skinnned people who appear and disappear mysteriously, but not until his father asks him to help with a runaway does he begin to understand about slavery and the important role his family plays in the Underground Railroad. Set in 1842, this moving story highlights a suspenseful night as the boy who would become a well-known Quaker minister and teacher helps Henry James, an African American struggling to find freedom.