This collection of 12 stories set in different parts of the world recreates true episodes in the lives of individuals who were affected by slavery. It ranges from accounts of key moments in the lives of historical figures such as William Wilberforce, Harriet Tubman, the African warrior Queen Jinga, and Toussaint L'Ouverture, leader of the Haiti slave rebellion, to lesser known stories of individuals such as the Cornish boy, Thomas Pellow, who was held as a slave in North Africa, or John Blanke, a black trumpet player at the court of Henry VIII. Other stories illustrate different forms of slavery in the context of industry and commerce.