Adrian is the son of a black Caribbean woman and an Irish immigrant father, and is blessed with the pale skin and European features to allow him social mobility in the rigidly hierarchical society of twentieth-century Caribbean life. He falls in love, but is offered the opportunity to improve his social standing, and thus the rest of his life, if he can suppress his heart's desire and decide with his head. Will he choose Julia, the only woman he has ever really loved, and settle for being an overseer, or will he opt for the plantation- owner's daughter, Alice Mills, who could provide him with the social standing he has always dreamed of? The consequences of his eventual decision are weighty and far-reaching, affecting not only Adrian, but all those around him, showing the harsh realities of life in this earthly paradise. Set on the idyllic islands of St Kitts and Nevis, this gripping saga is the true story of a family of mixed race and mixed fortunes.