Anita Campbell has been telling herself that Jerome Scott is not dead. ItA[a–a[s been thirty-two long and miserable years since her slave lover, and his other love, plunged to their deaths from a breathtakingly beautiful 1700-foot cliff off JamaicaA[a–a[s south coast, after their secret romance was discovered.

Anita had vowed sheA[a–a[d never love another man, slave or free. But even in death, she canA[a–a[t forget Jerome, whose legacy is an illegitimate son Andrew, conceived during one of her many secret rendezvous with Jerome. Torn apart by the new reality of the abolition of slavery, a move she and Jerome had longed for, Anita is immersed deeper and deeper into her past.

When Andrew decides to lobby for more rights for ex-slaves, an obligation he owes to his fatherA[a–a[s memory, Anita is forced to see life differently now, and she reluctantly crawls out of her despondency. First, she finds herself in church, consolation in God, and attraction to a young and handsome pastor. But the new life for Anita is not going to be easy. Just when Anita begins to challenge the vow she made with Jerome, she realizes she has competitionA[a–afrom the dead and from the living.