Carolina surveyed her life from the sanctity of her home. Everywhere she looked, the world had changed and now that she was twenty-four, humanity beckoned for her to participate. The war was over and Reconstruction had begun. But she could not step foot into adult society as she was. Nor could she present her true self, for fear that she would be ostracized. Her family’s Negro heritage was generations ago but bigotry still thrived, dangerously, even in the abolitionist city of Philadelphia. Was her nanny right that she should embrace life and live with her secret? Was it honorable to not tell? When a letter arrived, these questions demanded an answer. She had to either bury the truth or set the world straight and reveal who she truly was. Little did she know that love would play such an important role in her decision.
