The novel is set in the early '50s. The female protagonist, Iris, has returned home to the USVI after college in the States (she's pursuing a career as a photographer). Her future lies ahead of her, more or less in her own hands. She comes from one of the "best" families on the islands, of Jewish descent (no intermarriage, apparently). She soon encounters and falls in love with a man from the States who has mysterious roots in the USVI. The novel is as much involved with Peter's discovery of his family history as it is with Iris' relationship with him. The major tension in the novel comes from the question of Peter's suitability for Iris (in the eyes of her loving but strong-willed grandmother) on the one hand and from Iris' own willfullness on the other. "Happily," everything works out beautifully for Iris: all her dreams come true.
Used availability for Joan Medlicott's Belonging