During the American Civil War, teenaged Union soldier Sheldon Russell "Say" Curtis is left for dead on the battlefield after being wounded in the leg, but is found and rescued by fellow Union soldier Pinkus "Pink" Aylee, a teenaged former slave in the 48th Colored Infantry Regiment who has been separated from his unit.

Finding Say delirious with fever, Pink carries him to the abandoned site of the Aylee family's plantation, where he formerly lived and worked during his time as a slave.

By contrast, Pink is steadfast in his determination to crush the Confederacy, viewing the war as a moral crusade to rid America of the "sickness" of slavery.

While Say eventually returns to Ohio some months later after being freed from Andersonville, having nearly died of starvation during his time as a prisoner, he learns that Pink was hanged within hours of his arrival, his body unceremoniously thrown into a limepit.

"In forty-eight pages Patricia Polacco brings children into the loss and heartache of the Civil War.

[4][5] The titles in translation are: Chinese: 平克和薛伊; pinyin: Píngkè hé Xuēyī, and in Spanish: Pink y Say.