Diane McBain

When Cleo Henderson divorces with a small son to support, she seeks a job as a healthcare worker. She is assigned to Zackary Hughes, an elderly white supremacist. Zachary is a complaining, gravelly voiced curmudgeon who requested a white woman; he is taken aback when Cleo shows up on the first day. Forever hopeful, Cleo works hard to help the old man. Soon she meets Clarence Delacroix. They marry; tragedy follows. Angus Dunne, the grocery boy, always lurking in the background, takes center stage when he meets a green-eyed beauty and faces down some long-held beliefs. The Color of Hope is filled with fascinating characters who all struggle with the fast- moving social changes of the second decade in the 21st Century.

When Cleo Henderson divorces with a small son to support, she seeks a job as a healthcare worker. She is assigned to Zackary Hughes, an elderly white supremacist. Zachary is a complaining, gravelly voiced curmudgeon who requested a white woman; he is taken aback when Cleo shows up on the first day. Forever hopeful, Cleo works hard to help the old man. Soon she meets Clarence Delacroix. They marry; tragedy follows. Angus Dunne, the grocery boy, always lurking in the background, takes center stage when he meets a green-eyed beauty and faces down some long-held beliefs. The Color of Hope is filled with fascinating characters who all struggle with the fast- moving social changes of the second decade in the 21st Century.

CHILDREN $ GANGSTERS & NAZIS OH, MY Set in 1939 New York, this wonderfully warm and funny Damon Runyonesque-like piece deals with Addie Russell, a lady nightclub owner, who takes under her wing two orphaned Jewish refugee children. The children are in the country illegally and are also being pursued by a Nazi agent because, unknown to them, they have in their possession a vital piece of microfilm. The story is populated with nasty gangsters, comic gangsters and, of course, a handsome F.B.I. man to serve as Addie's romantic interest. If you enjoyed GUYS AND DOLLS and the lighthearted Warner Brothers gangster films (like A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER and BROTHER ORCHID) of the late thirties, then this one should delight you.