Soon after American colonists had won independence from Great Britain,
Ona Judge was fighting for her own freedom from one of America's most
famous founding fathers, George Washington. George and Martha Washington
valued Ona as one of their most skilled and trustworthy slaves, but she
would risk everything to achieve complete freedom. Born into slavery at
Mount Vernon, Ona seized the opportunity to escape when she was brought
to live in the President's Mansion in Philadelphia. Ona fled to New
Hampshire and started a new life. But the Washingtons wouldn't give up
easily. After her escape, Ona became the focus of a years-long manhunt,
led by America's first president. Gwendolyn Hooks' vivid and detailed
prose captures the danger, uncertainty, and persistence Ona Judge
experienced during and after her heroic escape.