Hearts Set Free

Grant and Debra are renovating their country cottage when they find a packet of love letters that have lain hidden behind a fireplace for over two hundred years. Debra reads them and learns the secrets of Clara, a woman married to a slave-owner in Bristol, living on the wealth of his sugar plantation in Jamaica.

In the late eighteenth century there is an outcry in England against slavery in the British colonies. It is led by such people as John Wesley, who has a strong influence on William Wilberforce. Clara hears Wesley preach a scorching sermon against slavery in which he accuses all those involved in the slave trade of having blood on their hands. Deeply troubled and concerned for her husband's eternal destiny, Clara urges him to free his slaves.
As Debra reads the letters she becomes increasingly involved in Clara's situation, so much so that her relationship with Grant takes second place. The effect on their marriage is critical.