In the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid's "Annie John" and Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," this is a moving portrait of a girl confronting society's ideas of race, class and beauty.

Inspired by a real event, this is the story of Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I. The sole survivor of a family tragedy, Rachel is raised by her strict African-American grandmother in a mostly black community where her light skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring her constant attention. As she grows up in the 1980s and learns to swallow her overwhelming grief, Rachel confronts her identity as a biracial woman in a black and white world.