Little Charlie didn't have much in life. He never learned to read, his father was a farm worker and far from rich, but until then he had the essentials: he was free.

In South Carolina in 1858, not everyone is so lucky. The plantations employ many slaves, some flee to the north or to Canada, and headhunters like the cruel Captain Buck set out in pursuit of them, with the complicity of the authorities.

When his father dies, Little Charlie is only twelve years old. He has no choice: Captain Buck comes to claim repayment of a debt, and he forces him to work for him. And now it is his turn to pass the test of freedom.