When Alice Sanborn and best friend Jerushah cross paths with a bounty hunter in rural northern Vermont, the teens stage a daring rescue for former slave Sarah Johnson - but winter weather, politics, and challenges of mountain life bring more danger. It's March 1850 in small-town Vermont, and tempers flare over the "right kind" of Abolition. When the two fifteen-year-olds suspect Alice's older brother William is taking dangerous risks to shelter a fugitive hiding at the inn, they see Sarah's safety at risk. With help from the skillful but mysterious Solomon McBride, the girls head toward the wilder countryside along the Canadian border. Perils abound, including back at home. Is it all Alice's fault? What should she do? Even a teen can take strong action - but which way is right, and how can she choose?