Emerald Jackson's dying mother wants her to have the best life and as she sees it, with her green eyes and long wavy hair, Emerald can have that life— if she lives as white. In the early 1950s, at age 14, Emerald leaves Shreveport, Louisiana with a white couple who tell Emerald's mother they are going to St. Louis, but in fact go to Minnesota and change Emerald's name to Emma. Emma is miserable; she misses her family and the love of her life, Noah. Tall, brown and handsome he pledges to find Emerald one day so they can have a future together. For the most part, Emma keeps her real identity a secret, revealing the truth to a very few confidants. Trouble arises when her "adopted father" is found dead and Emma takes off and ends up in Missouri and then Texas. In Dallas, she is taken in by Molly, a resourceful entrepreneur and recent widow. She teaches Emma the ways of being a lady and impresses upon her the need to marry rich to save them both. Better yet, she keeps Emma's secret but she cannot fool everyone, especially some perceptive black women. When trouble arises again, this time with her fiancée's father and the KKK, Emma runs again, this time to New Mexico. The "jinx" follows her again and she heads west to Southern California where she eventually meets her future husband, Theo Fairbanks, an aspiring politician. Theo is older and treats her well but has secrets of his own. The day the Watts Riots break out in the summer of 1965 is a turning point in Emma's life. Which way will she turn?
A romantic story of soul mates.