REBIRTH IN ACADI is the story of a passing African-American named Louise Dennis who in the late twentieth century, determined to enjoy a prejudice-free life while learning more about the post-Civil War duel in which her illustrious antecedent Dr. Albert Bancroft was killed, moves to the Louisiana river road town where the duel occurred. There, she soon finds herself engaged to a racial bigot who, obviously, must remain ignorant of her ethnicity.

The story — based on how secrets past and present haunt goings-on of the moment — is thematically complex. Racism, displacement, and the plight of the disadvantaged, including an unfortunate immigrant, color the journeys of not only Louise but another newcomer to the community, an aging go-getter named Margaret who feels a kinship to the long-departed duelist's wife. She's the one who, also seeking information on the illustrious antecedents involved with the duel, threatens to disrupt Louise's scheme of deception.