Nell's husband and son died in a freak accident only weeks before 9/11 hit NYC and the one-two punch rendered her a recluse. Ten years later, Anna, her last friend and confidante, is also the victim of an accident, and Nell ventures out from the city to join family and friends awaiting Anna's recovery. What no one knows is Nell promised Anna to protect her right to die, a role she never wanted, which is further complicated when she discovers secrets that call their friendship into question. Confronting Anna's defiant sister and husband, bolstering her adolescent children, and encountering...

On the night of Barack Obama's second election in 2012, a black girl stands her ground against an assault by two angry white boys. In self-defense, she kills one. Despite the facts of the case, she awaits a judge's ruling on whether she will go to trial. With her in the courtroom are her white adoptive parents and mixed-race friends and neighbors. All face their own challenges based on race, even in modern America, where black is black, brown is black and white is white. Written as a mosaic of fictional biographies, their stories shed light on the modern-day color line, each of their unique...