Liselle

Liselle is the main character of the novel. In the narrative present, Liselle is married to Winn, a white man who works as a lawyer and aspires to be a state representative. Liselle also has one son with Winn, whose name is Patrice. Because Liselle is gay, she never expected to marry someone like Winn and to settle into a predictable, domestic life with him. For a time, her reality feels safe and comfortable. She knows that her marriage to Winn affords her many comforts and possibilities that other Black women do not have. However, the façade Liselle has carefully built around her true identity and her litany of fears soon proves flimsy when she learns Winn faces FBI indictment.

Though Liselle had several conversations with an FBI agent in the preceding months, she did not take him seriously. She did not think that Winn's campaign for...