The book takes place in Cane River, Louisiana from 1834 - 1936. The book starts when slavery was still a part of life in the south . The book goes through the civil war and it finishes in the 1930's were even though the colored were free they were still treaded the same. The author's purpose is to show how life for colored people was in the south before, during, and after the civil war. The thesis is that through the struggles of slavery and freedom the women in this book were still determined to find a better life for their families. The Book starts with a young girl named Suzette,a slave working in the house serving her masters. Suzette is a dreamer she dreams of being free and getting married in a church. Suzette's dreams are shattered when she is rapped by a Frenchman and she becomes a mother...