How did indentured servitude work?

A person under contract to work for another person for a definite period of time, usually without pay but in exchange for free passage to a new country. In other words working for someone and receiving a form of payment other than money.

Indentured servants were men and women who signed a contract (also known as an indenture or a covenant) by which they agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for transportation to Virginia and, once they arrived, food, clothing, and shelter.