Sixteen year old, Effie Mae Reed, is growing up in the mid 1950's and 60's in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Effie was an average, wholesome teenager, when one sweltering summer, her life dramatically changed. She may never be the same, after a brief visit from her distant cousins from Florida. Transformed into something her mother now despises, a rebellious young woman, Effie Mae decides that marrying Reverend J.R. Smith, their pastor's brother-in-law, is the key to regaining her mother's love and respect. But when her new husband moves her to New York City, Effie Mae's rebellion takes on a life of its own. She forms a friendship with a notorious hustler in town that ultimately leads her into a life unbecoming of a preacher's wife. To further complicate things, she becomes romantically involved with a jazz musician who caters to her every self-destructive whim. Effie Mae's life continues in its downward spiral, ultimately giving birth to a son of whom there is a possibility of three fathers. Is it too late for Effie Mae to turn her life around? Effie Mae is crammed with drama, intrigue, humor, compassion, and a host of other unanticipated events. It takes the reader through the tumultuous life's journey of a teenage girl thrusts into a loveless marriage, motherhood and many dangerous situations and relationships in which she is totally unprepared. Effie Mae propels its readers onto an emotional roller coaster of love, hate, and breath-taking twists and turns as it ultimately builds to its mind boggling climax.