Say Goodbye for Now

In 1959 Texas, 12-year-old white Peter tries to make friends with Justin, a black boy new in town, and as a result Justin is beaten nearly to death by grown men. Peter takes Justin to Lucy, a reclusive "lady doctor" who recently treated an injured wolf-hybrid that a vet refused to help. As Peter sees Lucy tend to Justin, Justin's father, Calvin, and her dozens of strays with decency and compassion, he begins to realize the extent of his father's hypocrisy and abuse. In alternate chapters from Lucy's point of view we see her immediate attraction to Calvin and belief in his honor. Lucy and boy Peter form a new family while Lucy and Calvin correspond for nearly a decade living in separate cities watching the progress of Loving v. Virginia, the historic Supreme Court case that overturned state laws banning interracial marriage.