Grant Wiggins, a black teacher at the plantation school, is persuaded to impart something of himself, of his learning and pride, to Jefferson before his death -- to prove the lawyer wrong. Through no choice of their own, the two men come together and form a bond in the realization that sometimes simply choosing to resist the expected is an act of heroism.
"...a novel that is not only never maudlin, but approaches the spare beauty of a classic." (Kirkus Reviews)