A dangerous forbidden romance rocks a Texan oil town in 1937, when segregation was a matter of life and death.

"This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?" New London, TX. 1937. Naomi Vargas is Mexican American. Wash Fuller is Black. These teens know the town's divisive racism better than anyone. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. The consequences can be explosive.

Naomi and Wash dare to defy the rules, and the New London school explosion serves as a ticking time bomb in the background. Can their love survive both prejudice and tragedy?

Race, romance, and family converge in this riveting novel that transplants Romeo and Juliet to a bitterly segregated Texas town.

ADVISORY: 'Descriptions of racism, sexual abuse, violence against minorities, and other distressing facets of life [are] portrayed in the novel.' Sexual situations, racist language, and profanity are encountered. This story is not for people who are immature or sensitive to the subject matter.