Amma is the creator god, the master of life and death, and heis worried. His people have always known how to take care ofthe spirits of the dead - the "nyama "- so that they don't becomedestructive forces among the living. But amid the chaos of theAfrican slave trade and the brutality of American slavery, toomany of his people are dying and their souls are being ignoredin this new land. Amma sends a young man, Ekundayo, to aplantation in Virginia where he becomes a slave on the eve ofthe Civil War. Amma hopes that Ekundayo will be able to finda way to bring peace to the "nyama "before it is too late. ButEkundayo can see only sorrow in this land - sorrow in theownership of people, in the slaves who have been separatedfrom their children and spouses, in the restless spirits of thedead, and in his own forbidden relationship with his master'sdaughter.How Ekundayo finds a way to bring peace to both the dead andthe living makes this an unforgettable journey into the slaveexperience and Julius Lester's most powerful work to date.