Irene Redfield, a light-skinned Black woman living in Harlem, meets a childhood friend, Clare Bellew, by chance at a hotel in New York City. While Irene is African-American and is married to a Black doctor, Clare "passes" as white and has married a wealthy white man from Chicago.Irene Redfield, a light-skinned Black woman living in Harlem, meets a childhood friend, Clare Bellew, by chance at a hotel in New York City. While Irene is African-American and is married to a Black doctor, Clare "passes" as white and has married a wealthy white man from Chicago.