The narrative, Dawn at the Big House is the story of two people who find themselves slaves on a plantation in the southern United States. Their lives become closely linked when their master made a bewildering decision. Geraldine and Jim are both parents and they have a very kind owner who treats them very well. Their situation, however, changed when their owner finds himself financial difficulty and is forced to sell two of his slaves. Jim, a father of five, and Geraldine's only son, a toddler, are chosen for the sale. Here begins a series of events that would adversely disrupt their lives and take Jim and Geraldine in different directions. The story of how each survived is laced with humor, adventure, and suspense and brings out the resilience of the human spirit and the bond between fellow-human-beings in spite of differences.