Song Yet Sung

Liz Spocott is a captured runaway slave, shot and near death, and shackled to other runaway slaves in the attic of the notorious slave-catcher Patty Cannon.

The ancient nameless woman she is bound to reveals 'the Code', a fiercely guarded, cryptic means of communication for slaves on the run. 

When Liz escapes once again, Denwood Long, a troubled slave-catcher and waterman, is coaxed out of retirement to break the Code and track down Liz, whose extraordinary dreams of tomorrow have created a freedom-seeking furore among the once complacent slave community. The mysterious disappearance of two children, one white, one black, seeds an explosive ending.

Filled with rich history - much of the story is drawn from historical events - and told in McBride's signature lyrical style Song Yet Sung brings into full view a world long misunderstood in American fiction: how slavery worked, and the haunting choices beneath the surface, pressing both whites and blacks to search for relief in a world where all seemed to lose their moral compass.

This is a story of tragic triumph, violent decisions, and unexpected kindness.