Few women own upscale restaurants in civil rights era Washington, D.C. Fewer still are twenty-four, Black, and successful. But Eva Cardon plans to open a diner that offers Southern comfort to the working class. A war hero and one of Georgia's native sons, Courtland Hardiman Kingsley IV is a junior senator with great ambitions for his time in D.C. The young senator wants to use his office to make a difference in people's lives, regardless of political consequences. When equal-rights activism throws Eva and Courtland into each other's paths, they must decide if the values they hold most dear - including love - are worth the loss of their dreams and everything else.