Christopher Booker is a scholar who wrote that every story falls into one of seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Shmoop explores which of these structures fits this story like Cinderella’s slipper.
Plot Type : Overcoming the Monster
Anticipation Stage and "Call"
The name of this stage is fitting, since Rufus magically "calls" Dana back in time to come save him whenever he's about to die. The first time he does this, Dana doesn't really know what's going on. All she sees is a little kid who's drowning in a river. She does the right thing and saves him, but little does she know that she has travelled back in time to 1815 Maryland. Slavery is a big thing in the Southern states and Dana has do to a lot of things to avoid being killed or whipped. She knows that she needs to help Rufus grow up and have children because he is her ancestor. No Rufus means no Dana.
Dream Stage
Dana keeps returning to the past every time Rufus needs his life saved. As he gets older, Dana tries to make sure he'll grow up to be a kinder person than his father. For a while, it seems as though the plan is working. Rufus and Dana form a deep bond and Rufus seems to respect Dana as a human being. Plus there's the added advantage of Dana's white husband Kevin coming back in time and keeping Dana safe by claiming to be her owner.
Frustration Stage
Things go sideways when Rufus' father catches Dana teaching some of his slaves to read and write. He throws her on the ground and whips her so badly she thinks she's going to die. She transports back to 1976 and leaves her husband Kevin behind in the past. By the time she's able to track Kevin down again, he's five years older and traumatized from living in the past for so long. Worse yet, Rufus has grown up into a total jerk who's nearly as bad as his father. He also wants Dana to help him have sex with one of his slaves named Alice. Dana is repulsed, but she knows she needs to help in order for Rufus and Alice to have kids and for her (Dana) to be born.
Nightmare Stage
Things get out of control on Dana's final trip to the past. Alice has killed herself after learning that Rufus has sold her children to a slave trader. The sad truth is that Rufus only told her this to get her back in line. He hasn't sold the kids at all, and now Alice is dead. Rufus tries to comfort himself by grabbing Dana in his library and trying to rape her. Luckily for Dana, her ancestor Hagar has already been born and she no longer has any reason for keeping Rufus alive.
The Thrilling Escape, Death of the Monster
Dana decides to settle things with Rufus once and for all by killing him with a knife. But now what? She's a black woman living in slave times who just killed a white guy. It's enough to make her think she's going to die. And guess what? That's just the kind of thought she needs to travel back home to 1976. Once she reappears in 1976, she gets her arm crushed inside a wall of her house. It's a huge loss, but she's still happy to be rid of Rufus forever.