This book is built on the fascinating concept: A female president who is a descendent of Andrew Johnson works to pass The Forgiveness Act into law. This law provides all African Americans who can prove they are the descendants of slaves with financial reparations. While this national story plays out, domestic drama also unfolds.

Willie is a single mother who reluctantly gave up her journalism career to help at her father's construction company. Raised by Black parents who seemed to care more about wealth and status than true, emotional connection, she's surprised that they're not more excited about the possibility of reparations. Her daughter, Paloma, struggles with her identity, specifically her experience as a budding playwright at a mostly white school. As the stories of these ladies play out, we also learn more about Willie's parents and grandfather.

Although I enjoyed the themes of the book and certain parts of it, it didn't gel with me as a whole. While Willie seems to get the most scenes and we can great insight into her actions and emotions, the other characters didn't get enough time for me to truly connect with them. I really wanted to learn more about Paloma's struggles. Sep was teased as having this whole life of resistance that we never get full visibility into. And while the Act lurks in the background and we do get to learn about each character's feelings about it, some aren't developed enough to be truly insightful.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and its intriguing plot. I do wish, though, that some of the secondary characters had more narrative depth.