The plantation owner's effeminate son develops an unreturned schoolboy crush on her, which spirals into a doomed obsession, ultimately resulting in her disgrace and expulsion, followed by his suicide. The novel underscores the harsh impact of deep-seated racism on interracial relationships, especially as African Americans experience more significant social progress. One character even speculates that such relationships might have endured during slavery because they had to remain hidden. Children from racially mixed backgrounds often bear the brunt of this. Timmy, Robert Samson's biracial son, encounters prejudice from both white and black communities and is eventually forced off the plantation over a trivial matter.