The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Ward, Jesmyn. Let Us Descend. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2023.

Jesmyn Ward's novel Let Us Descend is set in the Carolinas and Louisiana before the abolition of slavery in the United States. Written from the protagonist Annis's first person point of view, the narrative traces Annis's time as an enslaved person and her efforts to liberate herself from the institution. Like the narrative, the following summary abides by a linear mode of explanation and employs the present tense.

Annis and her mother Sasha are enslaved to a white man in the Carolinas, whom they call the sire. When Annis is still a young girl, Sasha informs her that the sire raped her. The sire is Annis's biological father and his daughters are Annis's half-sisters. In spite of their blood ties, Annis has no connection to or affection for the sire and his family. Rather, she learns to fear the sire. She and her mother work in the house. They are spared the toils of fieldwork, but live in constant terror of the sire's sexual violence. In spite of the risks, Annis often spies on her half-sisters. She particularly enjoys eavesdropping on their lessons with their tutor. Annis loves learning about poetry and literature, and she savors whatever information she overhears.

Once a week, Sasha takes Annis to a clearing in the woods. Here, she gives Annis regular fighting lessons. Sasha acquired these fighting skills from her mother, Mama Aza. Mama Aza was once married to a king in the old world, an unnamed African nation. Mama Aza was a skilled warrior woman. However, her heart was not loyal to the king. Rather, she fell in love with a palace guard. The two tried running away together, but were caught and sold into slavery in America.

During their time in the clearing, Sasha imparts these stories about Mama Aza's life to Annis. Annis does not understand the purpose of these stories or the lessons. Sasha explains that passing these skills and tales to Annis is a way for them to preserve Mama Aza's memory.

Sasha tries to run away with Annis. She wants to give them a new life in the swamp. The sire's patrollers soon find them and the sire sells Sasha to the Georgia Man.

Annis is overcome by sorrow when she loses her mother. She finds an unexpected friend in another enslaved girl named Safi. Annis and Safi soon develop a romantic and sexual connection, too. When the sire catches them kissing, he sells both of them to the Georgia Man.

Safi manages to escape the Georgia Man, but Annis does not. She is brought to a market in New Orleans. A spirit named Aza visits Annis and tells her that if she lets the white lady at the market buy her, she will one day find freedom. Annis believes that Aza abandoned Sasha, and thus doubts her advice. In spite of her skepticism, she tells the white lady that she can sew, launder, and cook.

The lady and her manservant take Annis to the lady's sugarcane plantation in Louisiana. Annis feels alone and despairing. However, she soon takes comfort in her new friends Cora, Esther, and Mary, women who also work in the lady's house.

When the lady's husband returns home, he contracts the yellow fever. After his death, the lady is overcome by sorrow. Annis sympathizes with her, but fears that her grief will soon turn to violence. Not long later, the lady has Annis thrown in the hole.

Annis meets Esther's brother Bastian in the forest on more than one occasion. Bastian has fled to freedom, but is waiting on the outskirts of the plantation for Esther. Esther is too afraid to run. During one of Annis's encounters with Bastian, the two have sex.

The lady throws Annis into the hole again. Annis feels as if she might give up. However, when she remembers her mother's voice, her stories, and her words, she finds the strength to break free. She escapes the hole and runs. Aza visits Annis again and instructs her to settle in New Orleans. Annis ignores the spirit and runs until she finds a small burned structure in a quiet location. After Aza departs, Annis discovers that she is pregnant. She decides that she will choose life. She is free and she will live for the sake of herself, her ancestors, and her child.