Fiona is a child of Irish immigrants; Yolanda is black. 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 life 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 as she tries to make a life.