Chains
Chapter 1
Our narrator, Isabel, and her sister, Ruth, were slaves owned by Miss Mary Finch. Miss Finch has passed away and Robert Finch, her nephew has burying her. On the way to the graveyard, Isabel gets a few moments to visit her deceased mother burial spot. She had died of small pox.
With Miss Mary’s death a promised day has arrived. Isabel hopes to see the ghost of her mother to discuss this special day and tell her what Isabel will need to do.
Chapter 2
The special day was to be where the Isabel and Ruth gain their freedom. After the funeral, the girls find out that they will be sold. This decision was made by Mr. Robert Finch.
Conflict – 1) The girls should be free according to Miss Mary’s will, but yet no one will get the will.
Conflict – 2) They will be sold elsewhere and possibly split up.
Signpost – Memory Moment of the girls’ father being beaten as he is taken from them. Isabel refers to him as a lion.
Chapter 3
Mr. Finch arrives at a tavern in Newport, Rhode Island owned by Jenny and Bill. Mr. Finch wants to sell the girls quickly at the tavern because he wants to make money fast and get rid of the girls in case there is a will.
Jenny, who knew Momma, offered to buy the girls but Mr. Finch sells the girls to Mr. and Mrs. Lockton, loyalists during the revolution.
Chapter 4
The Lockton’s, Ruth, and Isabel travel from Newport, Rhode Island to New York City by boat, but it's hardly a first-class cruise. Isabel finds herself secretly hoping for a shipwreck, preferably at a place that doesn't have slavery.
Chapter 5
When the ship docks in New York, Madam Lockton throws a hissy fit over a giant walnut chest that the soldiers guarding the dock want to inspect. She says it has her underwear in it. While all this is going on, a friend, Charles, approaches Mr. Lockton and informs his that Bellingham, a local official in charge of arresting traitors to the cause of independence, is looking for reasons to lock him up for his continued loyalty to the King. Elihu dispels rumors that he and his family have gone to London, claiming that he's on the side of Patriots, but Bellingham doesn't buy it.
The battle over Madam Lockton's walnut chest isn't over yet, though we're starting to think there might be more to this than her alleged undies. What we do know is that there's something kind of comical about all this, and it's not lost on Ruth, who starts to giggle.
When Madam asks which one of the girls was laughing at her, Isabel quickly takes the blame, and Madam smacks her cheek hard. The Great Underwear Chest Debacle is resolved and it's decided that the Lockton’s can return home with it. They decide to send Isabel on ahead to get clean water. Bellingham's slave in the red hat—whose name is Curzon—agrees to accompany Isabel and give her the grand tour.
Chapter 6
Curzon takes Isabel to the Tea Water Pump, where the rich people get their water because it's tasty and clear.
As he shows her around the city, Curzon has a lot of things to say about the current political situation. For starters he says, Lockton's a "dirty Loyalist" for opposing independence for the colonies. He tries to persuade Isabel to join the rebels along with him and his master and be a spy. If she does, he's certain that Colonel Regan, the Patriot officer Bellingham works with, would reward her by helping her and Ruth win their freedom.
Isabel tells him she doesn't understand how she's supposed to discover information if they won't talk around her. Curzon says that people like Lockton consider their slaves to be objects without ears and will say most anything in front of them, no matter how dangerous the information is.
Signposts
1) Words to the Wiser – Curzon explains that the Lockton’s will discuss Loyalist plans in front of her because she’s not considered important.
2) Words to the Wiser - If you do what you are to this is not a bad place to be.
3) Tough Question – Why am I forced into this life of slavery?
Chapter 7
Curzon escorts Isabel across the mile walk to the Locktons' house. Once she arrives, she meets Becky Berry, the housekeeper. She explains Isabel's duties to her—going to the Tea Water Pump every day and helping Becky with shopping—and the rules of the house, which mainly consist of not going off by herself without a pass (kind of like a hall pass, except for going into the city) and not dawdling during work.
Becky explains to Isabel that whatever she does, she can't get her loyalties confused; because the Locktons support the King's side of the conflict, that makes their slaves Loyalists, too.
Lady Clarissa Seymour, Mr. Lockton's rich aunt, is dropping by later that day to hear the news of the “Boston Uprising.” Becky explains that while the Locktons hope to inherit money when Lady Seymour.
Chapter 8
Isabel is busy as the Locktons' new slave. Because Becky lives in a boarding house some distance away and primarily does the cooking, Isabel's responsibilities actually include doing pretty much everything not involving food. On this particular morning, Isabel can't find Ruth. Becky tells her that Madam has made Ruth her own private servant, dressing her in finery and forcing her to attend to her personal needs. Becky warns Isabel not to cross Madam concerning her sister, because she's known to be particularly harsh on disobedient slaves.
Because Ruth is with Madam all the time, she and Isabel never see each other anymore. Lying awake at night, Isabel begins to consider Curzon's offer to become a spy for the rebels.
Chapter 9
General Washington and his army are parading down Broadway, complete with musicians. Madam and her husband are obviously uninterested in all things Washington, Ruth attends to Madam's needs, and Isabel is sitting on the back steps sharpening knives.
Isabel almost doesn't hear Becky calling her for help. Madam is in the parlor with Lady Seymour and Ruth, who is dressed in her fine clothes yet it looks like she's been crying. Isabel's immediately concerned about this, but remembering Becky's advice, holds her tongue. Isabel introduces herself as "Isabel Finch," but Madam uses it as an occasion to abruptly change her name to "Sal Lockton." Sal is sent to the library to wait on Lockton and his three friends. They're talking about the coming arrival of the British fleet and she hears Lockton saying something about having enough money to bribe the rebel army.
She peeks through the crack and sees Madam's walnut chest open on the floor, her underwear thrown everywhere. Apparently no one cares about the dignity of ladies' underthings anymore, because Isabel discovers that the he chest is actually packed with cash. Lockton states the plan: Any rebel willing to switch sides will be given a large sum of money plus two hundred acres of land, plus additional acres if he has a wife and children. She must tell Curzon.
Chapter 10
At bedtime, Isabel puts her plan into action. She sneaks up the cellar stairs, prepared to tell anyone who sees her that she's going to the privy, but she's going to bring news of Lockton's bribery to Curzon. She runs the streets until she reaches Bellingham's home and tells Curzon about what she saw in the library. Curzon agrees to take the news to his master the next morning.
Chapter 11
Becky wakes up Isabel and the busy day starts. Isabel's wish comes true, and Bellingham arrives with a team of soldiers. The soldiers start prying the windows apart, saying that they need the lead in the counterweights to make bullets, but the real mission is finding Madam's linen chest.
Isabel approaches the bedchamber to find Madam sitting on it and refusing to move. Lockton, however, tells her there's nothing to be concerned about, and she moves. We soon discover why he's so chill about all this: The money's gone. He hid it in a false bottom in the drawer. Regardless, Bellingham still arrests Lockton out of suspicion for helping the British cause.
Chapter 12
After the search of the house, Becky sends Isabel to get Lady Seymour to assist Madam. Once Isabel gets there, she describes the scene over at the Locktons'. Lady Seymour writes a note for Isabel to deliver to the lawyer's office and another to Madam, explaining that Lockton will soon be released.
Apparently, Lady Seymour has connections. She is also very kind and offers Isabel more food and a glass of milk before she leaves.
Chapter 13
As promised, Lockton gets out of jail and returns home to find Madam packing to flee to Charleston. They have a giant smack down of a fight that involves various household objects being flung across the bedroom.
Lockton continues to have his Loyalist buddies visit over the next several days and asks Isabel to serve them drinks. As a result, she gathers a lot of information about the fallout from Lockton's arrest. She learns that one of Lockton's friends fled the city and is suspected of giving away their secret to Bellingham; Isabel is relieved to know that she is not under any suspicion.
Disappointed that no one has freed her yet, Isabel tries to make the best of her and Ruth's situation. She tidies up the corner of the cellar where they sleep, makes Ruth a doll out of cornhusks to replace the one she had to leave behind in Rhode Island, and plants her mother's seeds.
Signposts
1) Again and Again – The seeds are mentioned again.
Chapter 14
· Lockton has very important guests in the library, including the mayor of New York himself. Allowing Isabel to stay and serve she hears of Lockton's guests explain that their plan to bribe the Patriots hasn't gone over very well. The only way to stop the rebellion is to assassinate General George Washington.
· Obviously, this is kind of a big decision for the Lockton Gang to make. With the colonies and Britain about to erupt into war, they could be executed, so as an insurance policy, Lockton orders that they write down the names of everyone who knows of the plot on a piece of paper, to guarantee that the others will come to his aid if the plot is uncovered. Isabel pretends to be unaware of the conversation, but secretly, she's taking notes and naming names.
· Sal s being a good spy gathering information, at least until a deathly scream comes from the kitchen.
Chapter 15
· Madam says that the devil is in the kitchen. It is: Ruth is having a seizure on the floor and Madam thinks she's demon possessed. Madam responds by beating Ruth with a broom and screaming for the devil to leave. Ruth is defenseless and unaware of what's happening, which makes this latest act of abuse particularly sickening.
· Lockton comes in, his meeting evidently interrupted or over, and demands to know what's happening. He and his wife argue about whether or not Ruth should be sold on account of her alleged affiliation with the devil, but Lockton declares that she is necessary to their household and that the matter is closed.
Chapter 16
· After the disaster with Ruth's seizure, Isabel finally realizes that there's no way out: She and her sister have to get out of New York, and the plot to kill Washington is powerful enough to help them do it. Isabel breaks into Lockton's library desk and steals the list of names, then sneaks out of the house. She makes her way to the Battery, the fort that serves as headquarters of the Patriots, dodging the authorities along the way.
Get to the Rebels
· Once she gains an audience with Colonel Regan, she explains both the list of names and the situation she and Ruth find themselves in. Regan promises to investigate, which is a long way from an actual plan or promise, but it gives Isabel hope anyway. Regan orders Isabel to put the list back in her master's desk and to go about her business as if nothing happened. He tells her that if she hears of anything else, she must come and report back to him, and gives her the secret password to get into the camp: ad astra, a Latin phrase that means to the stars.
Chapter 17
· Isabel spends the next two days anxiously waiting to hear from Colonel Regan. One of Lockton's co-conspirators shows up at his house with news that their secret is out. Lockton tells Madam that he'll be fleeing New York to avoid arrest. Not surprisingly, this erupts into another fight, during which he shoves his wife into the bookcase and beats her. Shortly after, a carpenter nails Lockton into a crate for hauling cheese and loads it onto a cart.
· At dawn, soldiers arrive to arrest Lockton. Their search of the house turns up nothing, because Lockton ran away in a cheese crate. When they leave, Becky orders Isabel to clean up the mess they left behind and goes to the market.
· The Patriots have basically started arresting conspirators against the cause of. Hickey, one of the conspirators who also served Washington in the military, let the plot against Washington slip, which is kind of a dumb move since he's the one who was supposed to kill him. By all accounts, Lockton was able to escape and is safe.
Chapter 18
All are welcome to attend the public hanging of one Thomas Hickey, the near-assassin of General George Washington. Isabel, our narrator, is going and although she doesn't really want to see a guy die in public, she is just hoping to connect with Colonel Regan so that he can live up to his end of the bargain and get her and Ruth away from the Lockton’s. Unfortunately, though, he's nowhere to be spotted in the enormous crowd. Curzon comes over and says hello and even lifts Ruth up onto his shoulders so she can see the scaffold better.
Hickey's sentence is pronounced and he's hanged for treason against the colonies. Isabel covers Ruth's eyes and closes hers so neither can watch.
Chapter 19
· Isabel and Ruth are at church with the Mrs. Lockton and Lady Seymour. The girls are seated in the upstairs gallery for the slaves, when a boy interrupts the service to announce that the British have invaded the harbor. Basically, all breaks loose: Loyalists (like the Locktons) hope that the invasion will be their deliverance, while the rebels are furious at their arrival and starting to riot all over the place