A Chicago family's lives are disrupted when two young brothers and their friend discover the body of a local store owner in a ditch. The children are so used to seeing violence in their neighborhood that they don't bother telling anyone. When their mother finds out, it sets in motion a plan to move the family to a safer neighborhood. Complications arise when their father loses his job and abandons them, leaving their mother to ensure the safety of the family on her own.

Shelonda Montgomery holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a Creative Writing Concentration from Roosevelt University and a Masters of Arts in English with a Creative Writing Concentration from Southern New Hampshire University. Her works are in the journals Sinister Wisdom, Akikiro, Prevention at the Intersections, The African-American Review, and the poetry anthology Urban Voices. She writes for MyUmbrella.co and resides in Chicago.