Lemaster and Julia Carlyle seem to have it all; successful African-Americans living in 'the heart of whitenes' in a small New England town, Lemaster is President of the university and Julia a dean at the divinity school. But when Julia's former lover, Kellen Zant, is found dead the murder opens a door into the racial tensions of the town's past, and one family's secrets.

As Julia searches for clues to uncover what Zant knew that was worth killing for, she begins to suspect a connection with the death of a young woman over thirty years before; a connection that may involve Lemaster's former university roommate and current President of the United States...