If Cato is the heart of this story, Jimmy is its soul. 

In both Unmentionables and All to Pieces, Jimmy endeavors to find a way to escape from slavery. Escape from slavery was enormously improbable and nearly impossible. The risks included severe punishment and even death. To attempt escape took tremendous courage.

I've never had any doubt about Jimmy's courage. In Unmentionables, he was willing to give up what he loved most for the sake of that love. He's baffled beyond measure by the cruelty he sees in other men and by the circumstances of his life. But he's determined to transcend his circumstances, both through resistance and through extraordinary, if at times begrudging, compassion.

This, to me, is why Jimmy's life cannot be viewed solely with pity. Nor should readers condescend to judge any enslaved person as entirely wretched. There is enormous variation in the difficulty of the circumstances that we humans are born into. But I believe our lives are best judged by how we behave within those circumstances rather than by the degree of rectitude inherent in the circumstances themselves. Because of the horror of slavery it is tempting to regard all those within its grasp as abject victims. But to do that is to overlook the ways that some of those trapped in the institution lived lives of the highest spiritual achievement.

All to Pieces is the story of Cato's courage. Cato takes a great risk when he travels alone into Confederate territory searching for Jimmy. He has nothing to rely on except his wits. He tries repeatedly to pass as white. Although he employs various physical props to sustain his disguise, when he succeeds, it's due to his self-confidence and his mastery of language. When he fails, it's because of his self-doubt. In All to Pieces both Cato and Jimmy wrestle with self-doubt.

Despite the difficulties of Cato's journey, some unexpected and wonderful things happen to him along the way. He makes two new friends, who I expect will appear in future installments in this series. 

Slave patrollers, also known as paddy rollers, were gangs of white men who monitored and policed slaves--looking especially for runaways and defiant slaves. During the Civil War, when most of the young men were in the Confederate Army, it fell to older men and those younger men who were turned away from the Army to take over the slave patrols. 

Patrollers were equipped with guns and whips and would exert brutal and racially motivated control. In All to Pieces, the slave patrollers are motivated not only by racial hatred, but also by a profound homophobia.

All to Pieces introduces a new character, Mrs. Langdon, who is a Union spy. This character is modeled on a real woman named Hattie Lawton, who was part of Pinkerton's Female Detective Bureau, formed in 1860 to 'worm out secrets' by means unavailable to male detectives. During the Civil War, Pinkerton's agents became Union spies who gathered information about Confederate missions, troop positions, supplies and fortifications.

Hattie Lawton worked with John Scobell, a former slave who had been well educated. She traveled freely in the South with Scobell, who posed as her servant. Mrs. Lawton gathered information from unwitting Confederates in social settings, while Mr. Scobell gathered information from the witting slaves of Confederates--who overheard and knew a great deal.

Mrs. Langdon, the character in All to Pieces, deviates from her real world inspiration--in a way that shocks and surprises Cato. 

Ella doesn't show up directly in All to Pieces, but she appears in Jimmy's thoughts at critical moments. Ella is the character through which the entire world of Unmentionables unfolded for me. I first became interested in writing when, on a lark, I attended a past life regression workshop. To my great surprise, under hypnosis I recalled living as a slave on a small family farm in Tennessee. Ella is the person whose life I recalled living. Make of that what you will, I feel certain that my interest in this world comes from somewhere--somewhere I don't fully understand. One of my strongest "memories" is about Ella's experience of giving birth, which I hope to write about in a future volume.

An important scene in All to Pieces takes place onboard a steamboat. On The Cincinnati Queen, Cato meets the Union spy Mrs. Langdon. 

Steamboats and railroads were the best way to travel quickly. Steamboats were used by the military during the Civil War to transport supplies and troops--and to wage battles at sea. Both the Union and the Confederacy sought to control the waterways, including the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and the Atlantic coast.  

At the end of Unmentionables, Giovanni Frazza, the owner of a wig, perfume and hair-cutting shop in Chicago, moves to Philadelphia to be with Erastus Hicks.

In All to Pieces, Mr. Frazza lives in Philadelphia with Erastus where he's helping to raise Sammy. As a result of circumstances related to the War, his responsibilities toward both Erastus and Sammy are increased significantly. He remains a steady if unobtrusive character--and a source of affection for Erastus.

At the end of Unmentionables, Sammy, who was purchased from the Hollands by Erastus in order to save him from being sold into slavery elsewhere, leaves Chicago with Erastus and Mr. Frazza to go live with them in Philadelphia.

In All to Pieces, Sammy is enrolled at the Quaker Friends Select school in Philadelphia. He's noticeably older and more mature at 14, which is his age when All to Pieces begins. He retains some of his innocence and idealism--and soon grows to embrace the pacifist philosophy he's been taught at the Quaker school. He continues his painting lessons with Erastus and remains steadfast in his desire to become a great painter.

Walter Ames, a clerk at the Chicago millinery shop of D. B. Fisk, played a minor role in Unmentionables when he allowed Jimmy to hide in his shop from the slave catchers who were chasing him. Jimmy pretended to be on an errand to buy a bonnet for Dorothy Holland. Mr. Ames saw through this charade but went along with it anyway--sensing a kindred soul in distress.

Now in All to Pieces, Mr. Ames is back--this time in a small but crucial role. Mr. Ames watchful eye, along with his interest in his fellow gay Chicagoans, Jimmy and Cato, lead him to set the plot of All to Pieces in motion.