Pascal City heads off on a epic journey across South Carolina to Georgia with his older brother, Gideon, and an eight-year-old girl called Nelly. They are on their way to Georgia to find the local office of the Freedmen's Bureau, a department of the Federal government set up after the Civil War to provide land for newly-freed slaves.

On their journey, the group meets with a man, the appropriately named Mr. Freedman, who's a carpenter. With him is his granddaughter, Gladness. When the group reaches Georgia, they are given, as expected, a forty acre plot of land just outside of town. Together, they work the land, growing cotton as well as cultivating small gardens to provide themselves with food. During this time, the members of the group draw closer together, each pitching in to make their dreams of self-reliance and independence come true. It is also during this time that Gideon and Gladness develop feelings for each other. It comes as no surprise, then, when the two are married.