In this coming-of-age story, Lizzy Davis, a young Black school principal, reminisces about her adolescence in Ranford, Texas in 1957. As a result of the Supreme Court desegregation order, Ranford is about to integrate their schools. Lizzy's mother does not want her to participate because of the protests and violence which erupted in Little Rock, Arkansas, but Lizzy is is smart, ambitious, and outgoing and wants to make a difference. Her first day in class shoves her into the hostilities of those not yet ready to integrate. Although it is very difficult, she decides to return to the angry world that can fulfill her ambitions: a world where she must stand on her own.