Frederick Douglass was a slave: He labored all day, every day, no matter the weather, and was often treated badly by his master. One day, his master told him he would be going to a new plantation for the year. Frederick soon discovered that his new master was kinder to him. Nevertheless, Frederick knew that he would have to escape slavery, and soon too.

However, he didn't want to make this journey alone. He began to make friends with the slaves that he worked with. He told them tales of freedom, but also tales of misery. One day, Henry, one of his friends, confessed that he longed for this freedom that Frederick described in his stories. John agreed, and it was decided that they would all run away, as soon as a good plan was created.

A few months later, Frederick had an idea. "Alright, here's the plan," he told his friends. We will ride a canoe up the Chesapeake Bay. This way, most people will mistake us for fishermen, lowering our chances of being turned in." That day, Frederick wrote several passes, one for each of his friends. The passes supposedly gave them permission from their master, Mr. Freeland, to head up north to Baltimore to celebrate the Easter holidays. He had to be careful and give his friends the passes in secret. Frederick was nervous, but he tried not to let it show. If they were caught, he would be in serious trouble.

That night, Frederick laid wide awake, thinking. There were so many dangers of running away. You could starve to death, and if you were caught you could be beaten to death. He felt responsible for the fate of the mission. In a way though, it was almost as if he was excited. This was the moment he was waiting for. His whole life might depend on this mission. All Frederick had to do was make it through the morning.