Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1857, when the region is a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces. When John Brown, the legendary abolitionist, arrives in the area, an argument between Brown and Henry’s master quickly turns violent. Henry is forced to leave town—with Brown, who believes he’s a girl. Over the ensuing months, Henry—whom Brown nicknames Little Onion—conceals his true identity as he struggles to stay alive. Eventually Little Onion finds himself with Brown at the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859—one of the great catalysts for the Civil War.

An absorbing mixture of history and imagination, and told with McBride’s meticulous eye for detail and character, The Good Lord Bird is both a rousing adventure and a moving exploration of identity and survival.

1857年，堪薩斯領地正陷入奴隸制度存廢之爭的戰火，亨利‧沙克爾福 (Henry Shackleford) 正是生活在這裡的一位年輕奴隸。廢奴主義的傳奇人物?翰‧布朗 (John Brown) 抵達當地後，與亨利的主人爆發爭執，最?演變成暴力，亨利不得不跟著布朗離開當地。　　接下來的數月裡，布朗一直以為亨利是個女孩，還替「她」取了個小名叫「小洋蔥」(Little Onion)；亨利一邊隱瞞自己的真實身份，一邊努力求生存。直到1859年，兩人到達哈珀斯費里 (Harpers Ferry)，布朗發動了突擊。這座小鎮是美國南北戰爭爆發點之一。

小說結合了歷史與想像、真實與虛構；在麥克布萊德 (McBride) 細膩的描寫下， 場景栩栩如生、人物傳神生動。本書不僅是一段動魄人心的冒險經歷，更是一場關於身份和生存的動人探索。