One chief of surgery had informed them, with pride, during rounds one day that General Surgery was the cream of the crop as far as the medical specialties was concerned. Another, her mentor and friend, had warned that she, as a black woman who had chosen General Surgery as a career, would have a cross to bear.

The third, Chief of Surgery at the prestigious Christian University Hospital, had announced at General Surgery rounds one bright Saturday morning, that a woman's place was in the kitchen. She had persevered and fulfilled her dreams of becoming a board-certified general surgeon, which allowed her to be admitted to Christian's General Surgery staff.

First Knife is the story of the cross that was hers to bear, the massive opposition, in all of its ruthlessness, which she encountered, and how the most crushing defeat that befell her was turned into victory.