This book starts off in Cambridge, England with a university debate over the morality of slavery. Mungo St John, the son of a plantation owner in Virginia, is arguing for slavery. He loses his argument but doesn't change his beliefs. Mungo is summoned back to Virginia where life as he knows it comes to an abrupt end. The author is a prolific and very popular writer and is probably well known to many readers. I don't think this is a book I would particularly enjoy due to the subject matter. It does seem very interesting and well written.