Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary

The Rockefeller laws set the scene for this novel. Once in effect, these laws stipulated minimum mandatory sentences for capital drug crimes. It does not matter that Elaine Bartlett has no prior arrests. She receives a harsh sentence (one that some people call cruel and unusual compared to other criminals serving half of Elaine's sentence for murder or rape). This story shows how incarceration reaches beyond prison bars and into the homes of the innocent victims left behind.

Elaine Bartlett's apartment is located in a Harlem housing project in Manhattan. Elaine's decor encompasses ideas from photos clipped out of fashion magazines. She loves her plush carpeting (in every room, including the kitchen). She lives in the apartment with her boyfriend (Nathan) and her four children (two daughters and two sons). Her daughters, Satara and Danae are three and one years old...