Ann Elizabeth Carter leaves her sheltered life as the daughter of an African American doctor in Atlanta to marry a member of the Tuskegee airmen.

"On October 7, 1984, in the seventh month of her pregnancy, Crystal Taylor gave birth to a son. Because Crystal's mother didn't have her own apartment, Crystal had been living temporarily with the baby's father and his parents. But what concerned the hospital case worker was Crystal herself. According to law, fourteen-year-old Crystal was too young to be discharged from the hospital on her own. Both mother and baby would have to be placed in foster care."--Jacket