November 2004, investigative reporter Claudia Reynolds Thornton is stunned when 30-year-old family secrets surface, creating a present-day crisis. In her quest to understand the circumstances surrounding the secrecy, she discovers more family secrets, past and present, which challenge her values and beliefs. Through the firsthand accounts of her mother and female ancestors from three prior generations, Claudia is swept along on a fascinating journey through American history from rural Mississippi in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century to Ohio and Michigan in the early Twentieth Century and eventually to New York in 1974. Exploring her ancestors' emotional evolutions against the back drop of romance, racism and ritual responsibility, Claudia is struck by the enduring faith and courage the women show as they face heartache, danger and disappointment. Reflecting on their collective narratives from the past, Claudia discovers surprising truths about herself and her family that help her handle her present-day trials.