Female twins, Jolie and Tessandra Cormier were born in southern Louisiana in the year 1919. Jolie is born white like their mother, and Tessandra is born black like their father. The girls grow up to deal with racial issues in Lafayette Parish starting at a very young age. Before they are able to finish high school, their parents are killed in a tragic accident, and Tessandra is forced to take over as sole provider to insure their survival. She turns their parents' living room and kitchen into a salon as her client list quickly builds up while also taking a job as a "Numbers Girl" for a local hustler. This allows for Jolie to finish high school and pursue her dreams, but her life takes a detour one night when she is brutally raped by a white boy who felt tricked into dating a colored girl. Tessandra is prepared to defend her sister at all costs. After a gunshot goes off in the woods, the twins' life will never be the same.