Washington Black tells the story of an 11-year-old boy named Washington Black who escapes slavery on a sugar plantation in Barbados and travels across the globe in the 1830s. He works for a scientist and inventor named Christopher "Titch" Wilde, who introduces Washington to a world where science opens up possibilities that were unimaginable on the plantation. The two embark on adventures to the Arctic and beyond as they face challenges to their friendship and freedom.