Malique Laveaux is a fifteen year old misfit with multi-toned skin. He's an orphan and often spends time alone until one day he runs into a flower shop. There, he meets the owner, Sokie Roberts and her ten year old niece, Lani. He feels connected to them somehow. As time progresses, Lani informs Malique she has dreams about him. One of the dreams includes him aboard a ship being manhandled by two burly men demanding he take his shirt off so they can see the map on his back. Then strange things start to happen. One of the most beautiful girls from school, Clarissa Jones, suddenly takes notice of Malique. Even a Professor of History turns up on his doorstep claiming to be an old friend of his biological mother. The professor also insists that his sister is still alive. Is his sister truly alive? Could the pattern on Malique's skin actually be a map?