In 1860 Louisiana, on a failing plantation, the matriarch of the Guilbert family tries to hold on to the last vestiges of their power and prestige. Entwined in their struggle are their brutally treated slaves, including sixteen-year-old Thisbe, who is the matriarch's personal servant. As the antebellum power structure crumbles, Thisbe and the the other plantation slaves wait for their moment to pursue a long road to freedom.