Includes reader's guide

In 1863, a young Black woman who embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and join the Union Army crosses paths with a Jewish seamstress who helps her discover that even the most delicate threads have the capacity to save

1863. In New Orleans Stella, an ingenious young Black woman, embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and join the Union Army. Bound to a man who would kill her if he knew of her activities, Stella has to hide not only her efforts but her love for William, a Black soldier and a brilliant musician. In New York City Lily, a Jewish woman, stitches a quilt for her husband, who is stationed in Louisiana with the Union Army. When months go by without word from her husband, Lily resolves to make the perilous journey South to search for him. Their paths converge in New Orleans, where they discover that even the most delicate threads have the capacity to save us. -- adapted from jacket