Kindred Summary

On a sunny day in 1976, Dana, a young African-American woman, celebrates her 26th birthday with her Caucasian husband, Kevin, in their new Southern California apartment. Suddenly, she finds herself transported back to the early 1800s in Maryland, saving a young white boy named Rufus from drowning in a river. She's threatened by Rufus's father, Tom, but quickly returns to her own time. She again travels back in time, a few years ahead, saving Rufus from a fire he started out of anger. She encounters the Greenwoods, free Black people and potential ancestors, and experiences the harsh reality of the time when white men assault the family and attempt to assault her before she's whisked back to her own time.

During her next trip to the past, Kevin accompanies her, and together they tend to a severely injured Rufus. Their stay extends for weeks, during which they educate Rufus. However, Dana's punishment for teaching a slave to read sends her back to her own time, leaving Kevin behind. When she returns, she finds that Kevin has moved and Rufus has assaulted Alice from the Greenwood family. She helps Rufus recover from a beating by Alice's husband and helps Alice and Isaac escape, although they're caught and enslaved. Dana stays for two months, enduring harsh treatment and forced to convince Alice to sleep with Rufus. An attempted escape only results in punishment until Kevin arrives and they manage to return to their own time.

Despite short-lived respite, Dana is once again transported back to find a drunk and ill Rufus. She tends to him amidst hostile conditions, with Rufus blaming her for his father's death and subjecting her to exhausting labor. Alice, who has had a second child with Rufus, expresses her desire to escape, fearing her growing complacency towards Rufus. Dana, however, is forced to stay and care for Rufus's sick mother. She attempts to intervene when Rufus sells off slaves, leading to her own punishment. In desperation, she self-harms to return to her own time. Upon her final return to the past, she learns that Alice has committed suicide after being deceived into believing her children were sold. A grief-stricken Rufus nearly ends his own life and becomes possessive of Dana. When he attempts to assault her, Dana kills him in self-defense, immediately returning home with a lasting physical reminder — a crushed arm — of her harrowing experiences.