In 1863, young Emily Howland is determined to travel from tiny Sherwoods Corners in Center New York to Washington, D.C., to help the former slaves who are left in limbo after being rescued from bondage by the Union Army. Without homes or employment, they are pouring into the nations captal and living in shacks.
Only education can empower them to make new lives. So, braving disapproval and obstacles but fortified with the friendship of Secretary of State William Seward and his wife, Miss Emily goes South and teaches them. Home in Sherwood after the Civil War, she works with Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony for the right of women to vote. But will her commitment to this radical cause cost this remarkable woman her own special chance for love?