When Cassy first appears, she is helping Uncle Tom put cotton in a bag. She warns Tom to not be kind or else he'll get it from Legree. Despite her warning, Tom gets beaten up by Legree. Afterwards Cassy gives Tom water and tends to his wounds. Cassy decides to tell Tom what her life was like before working for Legree. She had a husband even though they weren't legally married. They had children but her "husband" fell in love with another woman and sold Cassy away. The man she was sold to though used her for perverse purposes. She had another baby after that, and she killed it, as she didn't want the child to live a horrible life. At last she ended up working for Legree. Unfortunately, like with all her other master, her body was used again. Legree becomes drunk by Cassy, and she tries to convince Tom to kill him so that all the slaves could be free. Tom refuses though and Cassy decides that she will kill Legree instead. Tom manages to convince her not to do it though and tells her that he can help her escape. Cassy and Emmeline, a girl that she took under her wing, hide in the attic until they see the opportunity to be free and escape. Later on, she finds George Shelby, son of Uncle Tom's 1st owner in the book (Arthur Shelby), and she tells him her story. Cassy overhears information from George that shows that Eliza Harris is Cassy's long lost daughter. After Cassy gets to Canada, she is reunited with Eliza. Stowe uses Cassy's character in the book to show the abuse slave women would receive from their owners.