The story of Ruth McBride Jordan tells of the two kind and remarkable men she married, and the twelve outstanding children she raised, largely by herself in the South from the 1930s to 1980s. The memoir illustrates how Ruth, a Polish Jew who immigrated to America as a child, leaves Judaism and Virginia and moves to New York City where she marries a black man. She combats racism and poverty while raising children. Family love transcends race and religion and faith overcomes poverty.