Uncle Tom, a slave on the Shelby plantation, is loved by his owners, their son, and every slave on the property. He lives happily with his wife and children in their cabin until Mr. Shelby, deeply in debt to a slave trader named Haley, agrees to sell Tom and Harry, the son of his wife Eliza's servant. Tom is devastated but vows that he will not run away, as he believes that doing so would put his master so much in debt that he would be forced to sell every slave. 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 flees the night before he is taken away from her. He successfully escapes and makes his way 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 ran away 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 befriends his new master and especially his young daughter Eva, who shares Tom's deep religious faith and devotion. Eve detests cruelty and is ultimately so overcome with grief over slavery that when she becomes ill, she peacefully accepts her impending death and tells her family and their servants that she is happy knowing she will go to heaven, where such cruelty does not exist. St. Clare begins to face the realization that she believes slavery is evil, and promises Tom that she will fill out forms that will guarantee 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 Marie, St. Clare's selfish and unsympathetic wife. Marie decides to return to her parents' estate and sell all the slaves, despite Miss Ophelia's urging Marie to keep St. Clare's promise to give Tom freedom. Marie refuses and, shortly before being sold, writes a letter to the Shelbys (with the help of Mr. Legree) telling them her situation and asking for their help..