Lemaster Carlyle, the president of the country's most prestigious university, and his wife, Julie, the divinity school's deputy dean, are America's most prominent and powerful African American couple. Driving home through a swirling blizzard late one night, the couple skids off the road. Near the sight of their accident they discover a dead body. To her horror, Julia recognizes the body as a prominent academic and one of her former lovers. In the wake of the death, the icy veneer of their town Elm Harbor, a place Julie calls "the heart of whiteness," begins to crack, having devastating consequences for a prominent local family and sending shock waves all the way to the White House.
- ISBN10 0307266966
- ISBN13 9780307266965
- Publish Date 26 June 2007 (first published 1 January 2007)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Vintage Books USA
- Format eBook
- Pages 471
- Language English