In this fast-paced novel, Jessie, a 13 year old Creole boy living in New Orleans tells in his own words how he was kidnapped and made to join the crew of a slave ship en route to Benin on the west coast of Africa. On the return voyage, the boy is forced to play his fife whilst the African captives are obliged to 'dance' and so remain in saleable condition. Jessie must witness the horrors of the slave trade at first hand and is marked for life by his experience.