Story of slavery, resistance, & liberation in antebellum Virginia. Can be read as the superhero origin story of an Underground Railroad agent. He discovers his power, he is helped by friends, mentored by teachers, including other Superheroes. Explored how one held in slavery could come to identify with the slave holders (especially when the slavers were also family), & with the slave/enslaver society in general, including how the enslaved characters connected their hopes & fortunes to the fortunes of estates they lived on. Touches on how the main sources of wealth in early America were real estate & enslaved human beings (one of the central themes of Not a Nation of Immigrants). I also liked the depictions of 1850s Philadelphia. The note at the end makes me want to read The Underground Railroad Records. Worth reading again!