When her enslaved daughter is sold into the clutches of the most sadistic plantation owner on the island, Perreen is desperate to free her. As Master Hodge's barbaric treatment of all on his estate escalates, mother and daughter are running out of time.
Ann, Hodge's wife, vehemently abhors the slave trade and takes great risks to secretly support its abolition. Caught in the grip of the same tyrant, the two women forge a strong friendship. While the debate over the abolition of slavery rages, their plan to escape ends in tragedy. One mother's voice is raised in the name of justice.
Set in the British Virgin Islands and inspired by a true story, In the Shadow of Sugar, divulges the horror of the tumultuous early nineteenth century. A time when English plantation owners cling to their power at the terrible expense of the enslaved, upon whose suffering they've built their riches.