
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage–and lost his mother and all memory of her when he was a child–but he is also gifted with a mysterious power. GradeSaver, 12 April 2023 Web.A boldly imagined work of magic and adventure from the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me.

Next Section Character List Previous Section About The Water Dancer Buy Study Guide How To Cite in MLA Format GradeSaver "The Water Dancer Summary". Hiram manages the estate and station of the Underground. Eventually, Howell Walker dies and the Virginia Underground takes over his estate through the clever scheming of Corrine Quinn, a wealthy white woman who is a leader in the resistance to slavery. Meanwhile, Hiram and Sophia remain at Lockless, forming a romantic relationship and caring for Sophia’s baby, Caroline. He learns to better control Conduction and uses this power to send Thena north to Philadelphia. He works as his father’s servant so as to provide intelligence to the Underground. Hiram returns to Virginia to help the Underground there and to rescue his loved ones: Sophia and his childhood caretaker, Thena. Eventually, Hiram meets Harriet (based on the historical figure Harriet Tubman), known as a Moses, a powerful Underground agent who helps him to understand that Conduction works through the power of memory.
He makes his way north to the free city of Philadelphia, where he works with the Underground while struggling to adapt. Eventually the Underground, a network of resistance to slavery, rescues and recruits Hiram.

Hiram tries to run away with a woman he loves, Sophia, but the slave hunters catch them and separate them. Hiram also possesses a special power called Conduction, which allows him to transport himself, and eventually other people, from one place to another. Hiram has a photographic memory but he can’t remember his mother, nor can he recall how Howell Walker separated them when Hiram was just nine years old. When Hiram is nineteen, Maynard dies in an accident in the river Goose. Howell’s white son, Maynard, is Hiram’s brother, master, and the heir of Lockless.

Hiram’s mother, Rose, was enslaved, while his father, Howell Walker, is the white master of Lockless. The protagonist, Hiram, is an enslaved African-American man who was born and raised on a tobacco plantation and estate called Lockless. In The Water Dancer, the enslaved are known as the Tasked, and the slaveowners are known as the Quality. Its universe is close to that of the historical antebellum American South, but has added surreal elements. The Water Dancer is set in Virginia, during the time of slavery.
