For generations, they ruled over blacks and whites.

They were—and still are—the Seminoles, the only American Indians who never surrendered to Uncle Sam. Runaways from other tribes, the Seminoles carved a kingdom for themselves out of the wilds of Florida, despite British and Spanish imperialists theoretically ruling the day.

The Seminoles also enslaved fugitives from American plantations, creating a slaveholding society unlike any other. When the Americans wanted not only their slaves back, but unsurpassed control over Florida, the Seminoles formed a groundbreaking alliance with those who they held in bondage.

What happened next is an epic story of victory, defeat, friendship, betrayal, hard truths, damnable lies, integration, segregation, heroism, cowardice, deep respect, blind hatred, and—above all else—the struggle for survival.

This story has lessons for us all. It challenges the way we view race relations, enslavement in the land of the free, and the nature of American history itself. As many question all of these subjects, and much more, Runaway Masters provides no guidance as to what we should think.

It does, however, offer valuable insight on a history oft-forgotten, or even hidden. This history, in so many ways, tells the story of our time.