It all takes place one summer in Summerville. Chanel – an African-American nanny with strength and determination, a heart full of love and a golden incisor – takes on the job of looking after Maurice and Becky – a couple of twelve-year-old white kids with more leisure time than sense. Becky's mom, Livvy, is rebounding from a divorce. Maurice's dad, Chet, is grieving from the death of his wife. Their painful recoveries from these losses in their former lives blind Livvy and Chet to their own romance until Livvy decides to move to Cincinnati. With Chanel as their catalyst and source of courage, Maurice and Becky devise a plan to open their parents' eyes to the fact that they have fallen in love. And in the process best pals Maurice and Becky become some kind of kin.
The penguins on the front cover of this book were drawn by the author's daughter, Mary Brice Irvin. The cover was des igned by Brenda Webster Gray.