In the Upper Country

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Young Lensinda Martin, a protégé of a Black journalist and activist in mid-18th century southwestern Ontario, finds her place in a community of War of 1812 veterans and refugees from the American South. One night, a farmer calls upon Lensinda after a slave hunter is shot dead on his land by Cash, an old woman who arrived via the Underground Railroad. Rather than flee, Cash insists on a barter: a story for a story. This exchange begins an extraordinary dialogue that uncovers the intertwined histories of Canada and the United States, Indigenous peoples across North America, and the Black individuals brought into slavery and their free descendants. As Cash's time dwindles, Lensinda discovers the complexities of her ancestry and her family's history, realizing she knows far less than she thought. Cash may hold a secret that could alter Lensinda's future. The narrative moves from Virginia to Kentucky, Montreal to Indigenous communities along the Great Lakes, and Black communities in southern Ontario, weaving together themes of love, tragedy, and survival. Through their shared stories, these women map their unexpected connections onto the broader history of North America in a profound and resonant manner.