Jacinta Moses is the daughter of a black African writer and a white British actress. Though traumatized at a young age by her father's death, her mother's madness, and her own wretched poverty, she manages to draw on her dauntless spirit to survive. As she grows older, however, prejudice -- her own as well as that of others -- leads her to make adventurous but damaging choices in her life. It is only when her daughter Lady is born with a physical disability that she is able to rise above her pain to find true happiness.Set in Africa, London, and America, Lady Moses is a powerful novel less about issues than about how one extraordinary woman uses her creativity, intelligence, and strength to shape an identity that transcends the lines of color and class. It promises to join the ranks of contemporary classics of African-American literature.