Naomi Gatson has lived her entire life in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her pa and ma had only one wish for her, and her three brothers: to flee the South.

It's the spring of 1941, and Ma has died. The Gatsons plan their family escape almost immediately. But the dead who have tried to flee keep popping up around Naomi, complicating the Gatsons' journey. The Sheriff's obsession with the Gatsons has only made their plan more dangerous. As Pa's health declines, the brothers become the target of the Sheriff's violence. Once the brothers become drafted to the Army, the Gatsons know it is now or never.

An intelligent young woman, Naomi is the one who must devise the family's departure. Will the Gatsons evade the Sheriff's clutches? Will they arrive safely in the North? This is the tale of their passage towards freedom.