Blanche Light is a plump, feisty, middle-aged African American housekeeper doing work for the genteel rich in North Carolina. But when an employer stiffs her, and her assessments bounce, she goes on the lam, concealing out being a maid to get a wealthy family members at their summer season home. That program goes awry when there’s a murder and Blanche becomes the prime suspect. So she’s pressured to use her savvy, her sharpened wit, and her old-girl network of domestic workers to find the truth and conserve her own pores and skin. On the way, she lays bare the quirks of southern society with humor, irony, and a biting commentary that makes her perhaps one of the most memorable and original individuals ever to surface in mystery fiction.