Meg's having problems at school, not just with a classmate who torments her but also with a fourth-grade substitute teacher who treats her differently because she's the only Negro in class and even suspects her of stealing a silver pencil. It's a relief for Meg to get home to her family and friends in Mayfield Crossing where no one thinks much about skin color. But these are the Sixties, and down South civil rights workers are encountering hatred and even violence. When Lucky, the brother of Meg's friend Dillon, comes home from the Navy and decides to go South to fight racism, the world beyond Mayfield becomes tragically real to Meg and her friends.