The protagonist of the novel, Rutherford Calhoun, is a thief and ex-slave who moved from Illinois to New Orleans. Rutherford’s character arc takes him from being a selfish, irresponsible person to one who cares for others and is responsible for his own life.

At the opening of the novel, Rutherford is a passive man who is content with his life as a thief in New Orleans. The journey that forces him to change is one that he enters as a result of external forces—he owes money to crime boss Papa Zeringue, and Isadora Bailey, a schoolteacher, offers to pay his debts if he marries her. To avoid both Papa and Isadora, Rutherford stows away on the Republic, a slave ship. Once aboard the ship, Rutherford continues to allow the motivations and actions of others to shape his life.

Rutherford does not assume true control over his life until he takes the side of the Allmuseri—a tribe of people taken into slavery and being transported on the ship—during a time when several revolts are brewing on the ship. In the aftermath, Rutherford becomes a force on the ship, pleading for the lives of the white officers, succoring the ill, and protecting Baleka, an Allmuseri child he becomes responsible for.