A four-part drama, set against the background of the English slave trade and adapted by Philippa Gregory from her novel.

Shun is a third generation descendant of a Japanese orphan left behind in China during World War II. Takeru is a lonely and reckless young man whose family was murdered when he was a child. Shun, Takeru and Kasumi, who has an equally troubled past and background, become collaborators after being hired by Kuchinawa in a police undercover operation to take on a drug cartel in a Chinatown. The drama follows their ability to work together and grow individually.

A look at 400 years of human trafficking from Africa to the New World with each episode following three separate story lines: the quest for a sunken slave ship, a personal journey by Samuel L. Jackson and a historical investigation led by investigative journalists Simcha Jacobovici and Afua Hirsch.