Meg, a historical researcher is compelled to find the links between her home area and the enslaved people who were brought there. Meg embarks on a journey that leads her down "The Slave Trail of Tears" from Virginia to Natchez and finally to New Orleans. As much as her work is driven by texts and documents, Meg is finally convinced it is the human connections that will make all the difference in her discoveries.The journey leads Meg to find connections with both the living and the dead. In New Orleans, Meg encounters two women, Wavery and Ann, brought up in similar cultural traditions as her own. The three discover that they share a mysterious link from the past that will forever bond them. Together they share how their lives are influenced by voices, forces, and people out of the "past" and the spirit of place. The ties they each have to the past will help to unfold the story that Meg is trying to uncover. A story linking them in all manner of ways to the past and the present.