A coming of age story about the friendship between two young Black girls growing up in 1957 Harlem, Phyllisia Cathy from a newly arrived, upwardly mobile Caribbean family and Edith Jackson, Harlem-born and raised. Their friendship is a microcosm of the intercultural conflicts and accomodation between African Americans and Black Caribbeans in the US, as well as a tale of two girls' struggle to build a friendship.