The year is 1829.
The gruff, self-reliant Goldfinch, a veteran of the War of 1812, has become the anointed leader of an idyllic religious community named Synod, nestled in the Ramapough Mountains of northern New Jersey.
Thanks to the advice of the village's Founders, Synod will become a stop on what would soon be called the Underground Railroad.
Goldfinch oversees this transition, bringing in a broken runaway family.
As southern bounty hunters follow their path and seek to reclaim.