In 17th-century West Africa, a young prince named Atanda is betrayed by his uncle, who murders the king - Atanda's father with the aid of British soldiers and sells the boy into slavery to claim the throne of Ile Wura. Torn from his homeland and thrust into the brutal labour of a Jamaican sugarcane plantation, Atanda is forced to endure unimaginable hardship under the rule of the ruthless Master Gerard. Amid the violence, he finds forbidden love with Adunni, a mixed-heritage house slave whose strength and defiance make her a constant target of Lady Catherine, the plantation owner's bitter and jealous wife.