Set in New Orleans and evocative of the sights and sounds that any native will recognize, Bosworth's novel traces the process by which the main character, Clay-Lee, attempts to reconstruct her mother's life through stories and memory. In the process of facing herself through her mother's life, Clay-Lee finds redemption for her perceived guilt in her mother's death. Her penitence restores her innocence and allows her to shape her own life and move on.