Uncle Tom, a slave on the Shelby plantation, is loved by his owners, their son and all the slaves on the property. He lives happily with his wife and children in their own cabin until Mr. Shelby, deeply in debt to a slave trader named Haley, agrees to sell Tom and Harry, the child of his wife's servant, Eliza. Tom is devastated but swears he will not run away, as he believes it would land his master in such debt that he would be forced to sell all his slaves. Just before Tom is taken away, Mrs. Shelby promises him that she will buy him back as soon as she can raise the funds. Tom is sold to Haley, who eventually sells him to a kind master named Mr. St. Clare. Eliza, however, cannot bear to part with her son and escapes at night before he is taken from her. She successfully escapes and heads to a Quaker village, with a family housing slaves. There she is reunited with her husband George, who lived on a nearby plantation and also fled to escape his master's cruelty. The couple and their son spend a night with the Quaker family before returning to the Underground Railroad. Tom becomes friends with his new master and especially with his young daughter Eva, who shares Tom's deep religious faith and devotion. Eva hates cruelty and eventually becomes so overwhelmed by the grief caused by slavery that when she falls ill, she peacefully accepts her impending death and tells her family and their servants that she is happy to know that she go to heaven, where such cruelty does not exist. St. Clare begins to realize that he believes slavery is evil, and he promises Tom that he will fill out forms guaranteeing his freedom in the event of St. Clare's death. Shortly after Eva's death, her father tragically dies in an accident. and Tom's fate is left entirely in the hands of Mary, the selfish and unsympathetic wife of Saint Clare. Mary decides to return to her parents' estate and sell all the slaves, despite Miss Ophelia's exhortation that Mary should keep Saint Clare's promise to give Tom his freedom. Marie refuses, and just before being sold, he writes a letter to the Shelbys (with the help of Mr. Legree) telling them of his plight and asking for their help..