“The Good Lord Bird” written by James McBride is heading to the big screen with Liev Schreiber and Jaden Smith headlining the cast.

The book, published in 2013, is officially described as follow:

Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1857, when the region is a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces. When John Brown, the legendary abolitionist, arrives in the area, an argument between Brown and Henry’s master quickly turns violent. Henry is forced to leave town—with Brown, who believes he’s a girl.

Over the ensuing months, Henry—whom Brown nicknames Little Onion—conceals his true identity as he struggles to stay alive. Eventually Little Onion finds himself with Brown at the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859—one of the great catalysts for the Civil War.

This is not the first time one of McBride’s novel have been adapted into a film. McBride’s previous novel, “Miracle at St. Anna,” was adapted in 2008 and he then teamed with that film’s director, Spike Lee, to provide the screenplay for Red Hook Summer. McBride will produce The Good Lord Bird alongside Schreiber and Brian Taylor.