The story begins with an African- American family in the 60's. The family includes three children, one of them who causes a lot of trouble, Bryan. First, he plays with matches, he is also the school bully, and then the last straw is when he dyes his hair. The family packs up and prepares the car to go to Birmingham, Alabama. The parents plan to have Bryan spend the summer with his very strict Grandma. However, he doesn't stay there because of an event that happens down there. The family is scarred and packs up to go back to Flint, Michigan only to realize that this is life-alternating.

The main character in the story is a little boy, about 8 named Kenny. He is the middle- child in the family usually being harassed by his older brother Bryan. He has brown eyes, brown hair, and a lazy eye. Kenny...