Nina Moore's pale skin and blue eyes lead most who don't know her to think she's a white woman, but her father, a famous black jazz musician, raised her to claim her black heritage. 

Nina teaches black history and literature in small-town Glendale, Arizona, where looking white presents privileges and burdens she struggles to make sense of. After dumping her colorstruck fiancé, Nina meets Ahmad Jefferson, the handsome, intriguing, and recently released ex-convict and single father who has no love for white folks, and won't give Nina the time of day. 

Nina soon adds circumstances to Ahmad's life he has no desire to deal with, and he is forced to relive the painful past that led to his unjust imprisonment and his adamant distaste for anything that is even remotely connected to White folks.

While Ahmad struggles to maintain his firm resolve that the friendship he values with Nina can never develop into anything more, and as he attempts to find a real sista to invite into his life, Nina uncovers a few dark family secrets that threaten to loosen her hold on everything that has ever held her upright...