Sixteenyearold Lorena Lelands dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression Renas banker father has retreated into the bottle her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers Project. There she meets Frankie Washington a 101yearold woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.As Frankie recounts her life as a slave Rena is horrified to learn of all the older woman has enduredespecially because Renas ancestors owned slaves. While Frankies story challenges Renas preconceptions about slavery it also connects the two women whose lives are otherwise separated by age race and circumstances. But will this bond of respect admiration and friendship be broken by a revelation neither woman sees coming show more