1988 1st edition, "November 1988 First Edition" stated; Doubleday publishers, New York;  smaller hardbound ivory cloth boards with foil decor and lettering on cover and spine; very good condition of book with unmarked pages; dust jacket very good.
 
description -
This is the story of Fletcher Randall, a nineteen-year-old from North Carolina whose politically powerful father is a plantation owner, and, of course, a slave owner. The time is 1855, and all Fletcher Randall knows and believes about slavery he's learned from his father. But Fletcher goes to school up North, and one or two of his Princeton classmates talk about how wrong slavery is until Fletcher begins to think for himself -- and he becomes a traitor to his background, to his family, by conspiring to aid in a mass escape of slaves on the Underground Railroad.
 
His partner in this plan is a black slave by the name of Harpin' John, a man who plays the harmonica so sweetly it could make a grown man cry. Christmas Eve is the secret date set for the escape. How these two men of such incredibly opposing backgrounds join together to achieve the goal of freedom makes this book soar with unforgettable inspiration. This is a timeless tale of spiritual regeneration, moral courage, and powerful humanness, meaningful and memorable to readers of all faiths and all ages.