Andre Anderson has got it all together: work, play, and romance. As “the hoopster,” he rules the local pickup basketball court. His new girlfriend, Gwen, is as smart, good-looking, and ambitious as he is. And at Affairs magazine, where Andre works as a summer intern, his featured personal essay on racism has just made him a celebrity. As his boss says, Andre’s destiny awaits him to claim it. But the unflinching honesty of Andre’s work makes him the target of hateful racists, and triumph becomes tragedy when Andre is violently assaulted by a vicious gang. His family and friends withdraw into depression and unreachable silence, fearing he may never recover.