Naomi Jefferson was born into a comfortable world only occasionally marred by racism - even when she is called a nigger after wandering into the wrong neighborhood, she learns not to let it touch her too deeply. As a teenager in the 1960s, her biggest concerns are when she'll give up her virginity and if you really can't get pregnant the first time, like her friends tell her.

But when her adored older brother, Joshua, seemingly the family's chosen one who is destined for greatness, is killed in a tragic car accident on his way to a civil rights demonstration, the rift between black and white America suddenly becomes personal.

In an attempt to live up to Joshua's example, Naomi immerses herself in 1970s campus politics. But instead of finding herself, she loses her sense of who she is. She's unsure how to negotiate her way through a world where brothers die for no good reason and the one man she depends on most betrays her with another woman.

Slapped in the face with such harsh realities, Naomi makes a decision: Politics are useless, romance is hopeless, and what she really needs is a career. But work and success in the 1980s aren't all they're cracked up to be, particularly since the promotions keep going to the white guys. Just when Naomi starts to think that the only person she can depend on is herself, two people walk into her life who make her believe once again that anything worth having is worth fighting for.