Fiona and Yolanda's friendship is tested by the place and time they live in - the Bronx in the early 1960s. Fiona's grandparents came from Ireland; Yolanda is black. Their friendship breaks all the rules. Compelled by financial hardship and concern about her daughter, Fiona's mother has reunited with her husband, who struggles with alcoholism and the violence it triggers in him. Their new start offers Fiona the hope of normalcy and of finally being accepted by her peers. But her friendship with Yolanda is not something her new friends will tolerate, and so Fiona deceives both Yolanda and herself. When she realizes that her father is drinking again and her mother is in danger, Fiona sees that the price of acceptance - her mother's safety and her friendship with Yolanda - is one she refuses to pay.
