Fan CastingCursed Land, Liberated Hearts

In 1855, in North Carolina, nineteen-year-old Elliot Jones, the son of a wealthy and cruel planter, 41-year-old Nicholas Jones, lives under the harsh tutelage of his father, who becomes increasingly aggressive and indifferent toward his son after his wife's death. One day Elliot learns that his father has purchased a new slave, fifteen-year-old Davu. The girl, though quiet, turns out to be smart and strong, and Elliot, full of compassion, begins to help her and strikes up conversations with her. When his father discovers their contact, he brutally punishes Davu with a flogging, and threatens his son with turning him in to a 20-year-old widow if he doesn't stop seeing her. Determined to escape his father's cruelty and save Davu, Elliot steals a horse and takes her away on the night of her sixteenth birthday. They flee into the nearby woods, but Nicholas sets off on their trail. They begin a dangerous journey north, where they plan to find freedom and a better life. Along the way, they fall in love with each other, but still have to escape the pursuit of a cruel father, who will not rest until he gets his son and the girl back.