The piece narrates the story of Carol, a young unmarried mother in 1953 Wisconsin who resolves to give her newborn son, Daniel, up for adoption. Soon after his birth, as Daniel begins to exhibit distinct black features, the community becomes alarmed and Carol's refusal to disclose the father's identity ignites widespread speculation and racial tensions. Handling this case, social worker Miss Binkler observes Daniel, driven by a desire to give him a good life, yet the scrutiny reveals underlying eugenic fears and societal biases against mixed-race individuals.

Fast forward to 2013, the narrative shifts to Francesca, who is invited as a writer-in-residence at a college in Green Bay, where she discovers her temporary home once belonged to Daniel. In the absence of Daniel, his wife Joanne shares poignant stories of the past with Francesca, highlighting the struggles faced by Daniel as a mixed-race child in a racially segregated society, akin to Francesca’s own experiences of living with a Korean heritage in a landscape marked by racism.

As Francesca contemplates her identity and reviews the lives of those women connected to Daniel – his mother who abandoned him, Joanna who left her own child, and her own mother – she reveals a disturbing trend: these mothers chose to give their children a 'rootless life' in pursuit of their own identities. This haunting reflection raises broader societal questions about motherhood, racial identity, and the sacrifices made for self-fulfillment amid an oppressive societal backdrop.