Dana Timeline and Summary

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• Dana tells us that she has lost her arm on her "last trip home." We don't know what this is right away, but it looks as though Dana is about to tell us.
• After moving to a new home with her husband Kevin, Dana suddenly travels out of her house and back in time to 1815. She sees a young child drowning in a river and saves him using CPR.
• Dana travels back to 1976 when she sees a man pointing a shotgun in her face. She returns to her living room not knowing what just happened.
• Dana travels back to the past to find little Rufus (the boy she saved) lighting his bedroom curtains on fire. She puts out the fire and has a chat with Rufus. She realizes that he is none other than her ancestor Rufus Weylin. She never knew that Rufus was white though.
• Dana travels back to 1976 after a man attacks her in the woods. Once back, she and Kevin figure out that she goes back in time whenever Rufus needs his life saved and she comes back to 1976 whenever she thinks her life's in danger.
• Dana continues travelling back in time. On one occasion, Kevin comes back with her and protects her by claiming he's her white owner. This time, they stay back in time for quite a while. But Dana travels back to 1976 when she gets a whipping from Rufus' father.
• The next time Dana travels back in time, five years have passed for Rufus and his family. Kevin has moved away to live somewhere else. Dana does her best to survive on Rufus' plantation while waiting for Kevin to come back for her. She only finds out later that Rufus wants her to stay and has secretly been neglecting to send the letters she writes for Kevin.
• Dana comes near her breaking point when Rufus asks her to convince a slave named Alice to have sex with him. Dana knows that Alice will need to say yes if she (Dana) plans on ever being born. Eventually, Alice goes to Rufus and Dana feels sick about the whole thing.
• On her last trip back in time, Dana finds Alice hanging dead from a rafter in Rufus' barn. She realizes later that Alice killed herself because Rufus lied about selling her children.
• Rufus tries to comfort himself for Alice's death by grabbing hold of Dana. Dana kills him with a knife and returns to 1976. She travels to Maryland with Kevin and learns that no one ever found Rufus' murdered body because a slave named Nigel burned the whole house down after finding out what Dana had done. Kevin and Dana end the book by agreeing that it's a good thing Rufus is dead.