Emma Lou is from Boise, Idaho. She is the only dark-skinned member of her family and everyone in her family, even her mother, insults her, because of it. The only one that accepts her is her uncle. She was the only black girl in her high school and when she goes to college, she sees more black people and expects them to treat her better, but they don't, because of her dark skin. Later on, she goes to Harlem, expecting the black people there to treat her better. They don't. She becomes a teacher in Harlem and the other teachers tease her, because she wears so much make-up. She wears make-up to lighten her skin and thinks they are teasing her about her skin color instead. She gets played by the bisexual light-skinned Alva who only thinks of her as a sexual object and a mammy for her crippled baby, Alva Junior. In the end, Emma Lou realizes that she has become what she hates, which is someone who favors light-skinned people and is biased against dark-skinned people and that this is why all of her relationships fail. After realizing this, she leaves Alva and plans to go back to her old boyfriend John.