“This land was made for you and me.” 

                     Woodie Guthrie

(B.1912, D.1967 with Huntington’s Disease)

     Alan Stone is a 37 year old neurologist and Jennie Kowalski, a 30 year old public defender, who become guardians of six African-American children after their mother is shot in the head during a robbery. The struggles of everyday life surface dramatically when Alan and Jennie attempt to raise these six African-American children in a racially tense neighborhood in Newark, NJ. Ultimately, they are faced with a life-threatening decision when Burgess, the oldest son, becomes determined to go after the man who shot his mother.

     The narrative is intertwined with Stone’s dilemma as one at risk to develop Huntington’s Disease (HD), a rare genetic, neurological condition that his father, Harry Stone, died of twenty years ago. The relationship between Alan and Jennie is in constant conflict because of Alan’s procrastination in taking a blood test that would determine whether or not he would one day develop HD. Resolving this dilemma is a fundamental question, which thousands at risk for HD deal with on a daily basis.

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