A tale of romance, rebellion and redemption, the show follows one man whose incredible journey ignited a historic wave of change that gave birth to the abolitionist movement. John Newton, a willful and musically talented young Englishman, faces a future as uncertain as the turning tide. Coming of age as Britain sits atop an international empire of slavery, he finds himself torn between following in the footsteps of his father—a slave trader—and embracing the more compassionate views of his childhood sweetheart.