As twelve-year-old Marlee starts middle school in 1958 Little Rock, it feels like her whole world is falling apart. Until she meets Liz, the new girl at school. Liz is everything Marlee wishes she could be: she's brave, brash, and always knows the right thing to say. But then Liz is gone, replaced by the rumor that she was a Negro girl passing as white. Marlee decides that doesn't matter. She just wants her best friend back. And to stay friends, Marlee and Liz are even willing to take on segregation and the dangers their friendship could bring to both their families.