Bobbie doesn't believe the southern attitude toward people of color applies to her northern world. Phillis lived in Mississippi and endured the worst effects of racial hatred, generating a mind filled with fear, distrust, and bitterness. Friends when they were five years old, the two reunite in a late 1950s Long Island high school. Phillis must convince Bobbie to confront the reality of racism even as they fight for the right to be friends. With humor and drama, Phillis, Bobbie, and a diverse group of teenagers wage battle to change their corner of the world. At first they succeed. They share high school highs and lows and first romances. Their euphoric lives collapse when officials accuse Phillis of arson, a riot ensues, and police arrive, guns drawn. They must expose the true culprits and clear Phillis's name before she faces undeserved years in prison.