marilynn celeste

An epic saga of friendship, family secrets, betrayal and coming of age in the aftermath of the 1967 Detroit riots.

Angelica Tanner learned as a child not to ask her mother too often about who her father might be. She pretends to be satisfied with the story of him being a war hero, dead and buried before he knew he was going to be a dad. But the stories don't add up. Could it be he's the most feared mobster in Detroit? Is that why "no decent colored man" would want her mother according to her grandmother?

Ricky Williams is the college bound son of a large family, shouldering the burden of keeping his older brother out of trouble on the street. Will Ricky get out in time to save himself?

As Angelica and her best friend Ricky groove through the Summer of Love, their youthful adventures collide with the course of history, when their city and their lives change forever.

This tale follows Angelica and her friends into the 1980s to a world of unimaginable loss, redemption, love, and ultimately home.