Kunta Kinte is being initiated as a Mandinka warrior and ready to start thinking about his future. But a feud with a rival family results in him being kidnapped and sold to English slave traders, who are in the business of transporting shiploads of enslaved Africans to America to be sold. Following an attempted rebellion on board the ship, Kunta is eventually brought to Maryland, where he is purchased by Virginia tobacco baron John Waller. But the young warrior's indomitable spirit is not ready to be subjugated.

Ten years after being bought as a slave, Kunta escapes and is enlisted to fight for the English army. But his hopes of freedom are soon brutally crushed. Kunta marries beautiful slave Belle and the two have a daughter, Kizzy, who grows up to be a bright, defiant young woman, inheriting her father's spirit - with both good and dire consequences.

Young George - son of Kizzy and slave owner Tom Lea - grows up to become involved in cockfighting. His flamboyancy and impressive bird-training skills earn him the nickname of Chicken George and he wins many fights for Tom Lea, as he starts to dream of becoming a free man one day.

After 20 years in England, Chicken George makes his way back to America and reaches Tom Lea's farm, where he hopes to be reunited with his family. But tracking down his long-lost relations and making up for lost time won't be easy.