In late eighteenth-century Massachusetts, Aissa, the fictional younger sister of Elizabeth Freeman, relates how her sister gains freedom for herself and her family by bringing a suit against their owner in court. Through the eyes of a young slave in Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War, this historical novel illustrates the effect of the new country's constitution on its slaves. Aissa (Second Daughter) places her older sister's quiet fight for freedom against the backdrop of the creation of the constitution. This novel contains unfamiliar references to American history.