In the golden age of the Mississippi, men and women from all walks of life climbed aboard the mighty riverboats and forged a nation's destiny: Gambler Dexter McKay had a heavenly way with a deck of cards. Land owner Clifton Stewart was heir to a cotton and sugar empire. Chambermaid Mystie Waters caught the eye of every man on board, and Eli, the runaway, escaped his master's plantation only to be captured by slave hunters.