Alabama, 1956. While Elvis Presley was singing about love, one young woman was learning about life.

One of the most popular girls on campus, everyone loves Maggie Deloach, a young woman with everything going for her. An impeccable lineage. Picture-perfect looks. The top sorority and the best fraternity boy's pin. The ultimate Southern belle, Maggie knows the rules and is willing to play by them. Her future holds no surprises -- yet offers no disappointments, either.

But amid the stifling heat of one Alabama summer, everything will change for Maggie. There is talk of a racial revolution brewing, one that surely should not touch her protected world . . .but somehow does. There is a growing sexual awareness that should shock her . . . yet does not. There is a single act of defiance and courage that will forever alter the way others think of her . . . and, ultimately, how Maggie thinks of herself.