“The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts” is followed by “The End of the World and Beyond” written by Avi. Oliver Cromwell Pitts, who is taken from England to America after being found guilty of stealing, is the protagonist of the tale. He travels across the Atlantic in difficult circumstances. In Annapolis, the frugal Fitzhugh buys him into indentured slavery. Oliver’s lone friend on Fitzhugh’s remote tobacco plantation is Bara, an enslaved boy. They have a strategy together to get away from Fitzhugh and the perils that the swamp has to offer.