Pemba and her mother move from Brooklyn to a small town near Hartford, Connecticut when her mom gets an opportunity at a dream job. The two have been living alone since Pemba's father died in the Iraq War. They find themselves in a beautiful historic home that dates back to the colonial period.

It is in this home that Pemba starts to experience flashbacks from the perspective of a slave girl who used to live in the house with the original owner. Phyllys, the slave girl, was witness to a crime that was not properly identified or prosecuted. During the flashbacks, Pemba passes out, scaring both herself and, later, her mother.

As she attempts to figure out Phyllys' secret, Pemba is also working with Abraham, a local African American who is living in the local library due to hard economic times, as he is working to research the local School for Colored Children in order to make it a historically-recognized building. He is hoping to capture the rich history that African Americans contributed to the area by telling their story.

Using the library archives, information about the Colored School, and papers found in her new home, Pemba and Abraham work to sort out the mystery so they can help Phyllys rest in peace and help make Pemba feel as if her new home is a place she wants to live even though it is not the big city she grew up in.

The writing in this tale is incredibly rich, balancing Tonya Hefamin's narrative from the perspective of Pemba and the rich historical perspective in Phyllys' words with Marilyn Nelson's poetic writing. My only complaint is that after the big build-up, the conclusion is incredibly abrupt. I felt a little robbed as I wanted more detail about what happened to Phyllys and those around her.