listing all the Weylin slaves except Nigel, Carrie, Joe, and Hagar. Dana speculates that Nigel covered up the murder by starting the fire, and feels responsible for the sale of the slaves. To that, Kevin responds that she cannot do anything about the past, and now that Rufus is finally dead, they can return to their peaceful life together. Characters Edana (Dana) Franklin: A courageous and compassionate 26-year-old African-American woman writer. She is the protagonist and the narrator of the story. She is married to a white writer named Kevin. She is forced to travel to a slave plantation in antebellum Maryland by her white slave-owning ancestor Rufus. On the plantation, she must learn to make hard compromises to survive as a slave and to ensure her existence in her own time. As a writer, she is largely unsuccessful until marrying Kevin. Rufus Weylin: The red-haired, white son of Tom Weylin and his wife; he owns a Maryland plantation and numerous slaves. Dana first meets Rufus as a young boy and sees him grow to replace his father as slave master. Rufus eventually rapes and impregnates a free black woman, Alice, and their child becomes one of Dana's ancestors. Kevin Franklin: Dana's husband, a white writer twelve years older than she. Kevin is deeply in love with his wife, having rejected his racist family to marry her. When he time travels with Dana to the past, he witnesses the brutality of slavery and eventually becomes an abolitionist, helping slaves escape to freedom. Tom Weylin: The brutal owner of an antebellum Maryland plantation. Tom is a hard master and father. He retaliates swiftly and violently if disobeyed. He whips Dana on multiple occasions, and authorizes the selling of his slaves' children. He is often likened to Kevin in looks. Alice Greenwood (later, Alice Jackson): A proud black woman, born free and then enslaved for helping her enslaved husband Isaac run away. Alice is bought by Rufus, who forces her to become his concubine; she bears four children but only two survive: Joe and Hagar. She hangs herself after Rufus lies and tells her he has sold her children as punishment. Sarah: The cook of the Weylin household and its unofficial manager, she tries to protect the house slaves while making them work hard. Dana learns Weylin has sold all of Sarah's children except Carrie. Margaret Weylin: The plantation owner's wife who