In January 2018, January Wells wakes in her cold Harlem apartment. The 33-year-old recently left her longtime boyfriend Morris Starling and now lives alone. Scrolling through social media, she sees her friends Desiree, Monique L., and Nakia Washington vacationing in Martinique without her—a trip she originally suggested but could not afford after separating from Morris and discovering she is pregnant.

January ventures out for food, discovering an evicted neighbor’s belongings on the curb. On a bus, a woman offers her a seat, making January wonder if her pregnancy is showing. She texts Desiree that she plans to write Morris a letter, informing him about the baby and asking him to relinquish his parental rights.

At a coffee shop, January struggles to write the letter. She becomes nauseous and vomits for the first time due to morning sickness. Desiree video calls January from Martinique, urging her to wait before contacting Morris. An overwhelmed and lonely January hangs up on her.

Walking through Harlem, January encounters a statue of Harriet Tubman wearing a bright pink knitted “pussy hat”. The absurdity makes her laugh despite her anxiety.

In 2012, four years after Nolan’s death, Desiree returns to New York from Los Angeles, where she emptied and sold her grandfather’s house. She moved to New York a year ago with her friend Nakia, having sold nearly all of Nolan’s rental properties and inherited close to a million dollars. She experienced a bout of depression punctuated by heavy drinking, which cost her her job. Having since recovered, Desiree now lives with Nakia in Harlem.

To celebrate the sale of Nolan’s house, Desiree hosts a night out at a Manhattan nightclub with her friends, Nakia, Monique, and January and her boyfriend Morris. Morris brings two friends: Chika and Dale.

Desiree ends up chatting and flirting with Chika, who repeatedly tells her how familiar she looks. Desire wonders if Chika might have known her estranged sister Danielle, given that they both studied medicine in Ohio. Meanwhile, Nakia heads out to meet up with her girlfriend Brandyn. She later returns, informing her friends that she did cocaine and that Dale groped her chest. In the taxi home afterwards, Nakia tells Desiree that she feels out of place in New York and is considering moving back to Los Angeles, devastating Desiree.

Back in her room, Desiree searches for Chika on Facebook. In his photos, she finds a group shot from a 2008 medical mission to Haiti, which includes Chika and Danielle and confirms they worked together. Despite this connection, Desiree texts Chika and heads out to meet him.

In her May 2019 blog post, Monique acknowledges the surge in followers after her speech at a “Tru Talk” event went viral. She thanks her parents and her friend January, who designed her logo, then republishes her original June 2018 blog post that became the speech—a confession that evolved into an indictment.

The republished post details Monique’s experience as a new librarian at a Southern university in 2018. She was appointed to a committee addressing two former quarters for enslaved laborers that are located on campus, which the university called the “Miss April Houses” after a 20th-century Black employee who lived there. Monique quickly realized that the committee was a public-facing cover for secret trustees who controlled the real decisions.

A Black history professor, Nnamdi Watson, joined the committee and objected to the erasure of enslavement from the site’s interpretation. Community member Shaw Hammers submitted a petition to include information about the trade in enslaved Africans, which the committee rejected. Another committee member, Becca Samuels, argued that explicit enslavement references might retraumatize students of color.

The committee approved displays about African linguistic roots in the inhabitants’ speech while prohibiting exhibits about enslavement itself, including a mysterious buried box with a carved cross, which Monique speculated was for root work. Monique refused to have her name included on the final placard and did not join Nnamdi’s subsequent protest. She was shunned by both university officials and activists, leaving her professionally and personally isolated. She concludes the blog post by suggesting that the committee communicated limited truths while hoping more information could be added in the future.

In 2015, 28-year-old Nakia Washington is running her own restaurant in Los Angeles Safe House Café; she named it in honor of her ancestor Ann, who self-emancipated in 19th-century Philadelphia. Nakia’s family are descendants of “minor First Blacks” (92) from New Jersey, who were the first to hold various local professional and civic positions. Nakia opened her restaurant with a loan from her parents, Conrad and Juanita, after returning from New York.

One day, Nakia’s head chef, Miguel, calls to say he must leave town immediately for a family emergency in Chiapas, Mexico. Nakia takes over Miguel’s managerial duties, including the expediting station. She soon notices Reina, a newer cook she hired based on Miguel’s recommendation. Reina does not have a formal education, but Nakia notices how attractive and skilled she is.

After a successful service one day, Nakia offers Reina a ride home. They end up at Kenneth Hahn Park, where they smoke marijuana and a powerful attraction develops. Over the next three weeks, they begin a secret, passionate affair, meeting primarily at the restaurant after hours.

Nakia brings Reina to meet her friend Arielle, who runs a gym and feeds the unhoused community. Reina reveals her story to a curious Arielle: At 16, she came to the US from Guatemala with her high school marching band for the Rose Parade. When her cousin Manu told her about kitchen wages, she decided to stay in the States. Despite the ongoing challenges she faces, she has built a career through determination and skill.

On Nakia and Reina’s first official date, Reina subtly suggests she deserves more responsibility at the restaurant. Nakia agrees. Afterwards, she visits Reina’s converted garage apartment for the first time, confronting the reality of her living conditions.

Two weeks later, Miguel returns unexpectedly. His brother, Ruben, was brutally assaulted and has a permanent disability as a result; however, Miguel informs Nakia he is back for good. Despite the new schedule with Reina’s expanded hours, Miguel reclaims his role. Nakia feels there is nothing she can do. After work, Reina confronts Nakia, saying she thought they “were the same” (114), and quits. During the argument, emergency vehicles pass by, and Reina exits the car and walks away, ending their relationship.

Throughout the summer of 2012, Desiree runs through Harlem several nights a week to Chika’s apartment, where they engage in intense, urgent sex. Their arrangement requires little conversation. Chika finds her familiar but cannot place why. He remains unaware that Desiree knows he previously dated her estranged sister Danielle.

One morning in June while Chika is at work, Desiree uses his unlocked laptop and discovers a flight confirmation for a trip he took to Cancún the previous summer with Danielle. Desiree realizes what is really at stake in her and Chika’s affair.

The relationship continues through the summer with increasing intimacy. They listen to rhythm-and-blues CDs, play cards, and share small domestic moments. In late July, Desiree intercepts a package Danielle sent to Chika, containing an Erykah Badu concert T-shirt and a note saying she is moving and thought he might want it back.

Disturbed by the package, Desiree avoids Chika for weeks. She returns after witnessing her roommate Nakia with her ex-girlfriend Brandyn, triggering feelings of abandonment.

On the Saturday before Labor Day, Chika makes grilled cheese and plans to invite Desiree to a street party while she is showering. Chika is shocked when he overhears Desiree singing Smokey Robinson’s “I Don’t Like You, But I Love You”—a song he associates with Danielle. He suddenly realizes Desiree and Danielle must be related, recalling parallels between their family stories.

That night, Desiree and Chika have sex one final time. In the morning, Chika leaves before Desiree wakes. She gets dressed and leaves his apartment. In the hallway, she pauses to listen to a neighbor play Bach’s Musical Offering through the wall, knowing their affair is over.

In 2009, six months after Nolan’s death, Desiree is living alone in the converted garage behind her grandfather’s Leimert Park house. Unemployed and frequently hungover, Desiree finds comfort in the flock of red-headed green parrots that inhabit the trees above the property.

One morning, Danielle arrives at the main house unannounced. She retrieves an old family photograph from atop the kitchen cabinets and shows it to Desiree. It depicts their mother Sherelle, pregnant with Desiree, alongside toddler Danielle and their father Terry Joyner. Danielle explains she hid it in eighth grade to avoid using it for a school project. Then, while packing up boxes with family belongings, she accuses Desiree of being too eager to help Nolan die. When Desiree asks about Nolan’s story of possibly having a son in France, Danielle dismisses it as one of his lies and claims he told her many things he never told Desiree.

Danielle states she has been advised to take only enough inheritance to pay off her student loans. She tells Desiree they do not really know each other anymore and carries her boxes out to the car. As Danielle begins backing out of the driveway, Desiree runs after her with a small box containing the last of Nolan’s ashes. She stops Danielle and offers it to her. Danielle breaks down sobbing but accepts the box. She tells Desiree she loved Nolan but that he did not like her. When Desiree insists Nolan loved them both, Danielle disagrees. Desiree stands in the driveway and watches Danielle drive away.