Even in the worst days of the slump, the McQueens kept their chins up. One by one their neighbours had departed for the workhouse, their last stick of furniture carried off by the bailiffs. Even though there was not much on the table, the McQueen house constantly echoed with laughter.
The McQueens were as blunt as they were big-hearted until Bridget McQueen came home one day with her new husband. She had married a negro sailor and bore him a daughter, Rose-Angela. This child grows into a beautiful young girl, but can never escape the feeling of suspicion and hatred that are the heritage of her mixed blood. Her father, a man of fine character who desires only to live decently and at peace with his fellow men, is driven away from his wife and child by the insane jealousy of Bridget’s brother Matt.
Rose-Angela has to face the world with little more than her own courage and the kindly words of an old priest who reminds her that, after all, God is colour blind. This is the powerfully moving story of how she triumphs over prejudice and cruelty; of the love that comes to her; and of her strange reunion with her father.