When Diamond La Rue begins college, she is young, naïve and very protected by the close-knit La Rue family. From the cocoon of her grandmother's brownstone in Sugar Hill, Harlem, Diamond must set out into the world and find her own way. Smart, ambitious and loyal, she seeks to balance her family life and education with the new relationships she's formed as a student at Columbia University. At the same time, Diamond is expected to maintain the family secrets that surround her---the very secrets that could push the La Rue family over the edge. Can Diamond have a life of her own and avoid the mistakes and traps that have hurt those around her? Diamond's loyalties are tested when family and friends begin to question her allegiances. Alliances are challenged, boundaries are re-drawn, and misunderstandings bring about rivalries and destruction. Set against the backdrop of a Harlem on the cusp of change, Diamond's journey takes her from the hills of Harlem down to SoHo and out into the rich suburban enclaves of New York City and everywhere in between. Will Diamond La Rue find everything that she is looking for or will smoke get in her eyes?