Irene Redfield, a light-skinned black woman living in Harlem, meets a childhood friend, Clare, by chance at a hotel. While Irene identifies as African-American and is married to a black doctor, Clare “passes” as white and has married a wealthy white man.
Clare invites Irene back to the hotel where she is staying with her husband, John, on his business trip. Clare explains that after her father died, she was raised by two white aunts and married him very young. They are interrupted by John, who openly despises and degrades African-Americans, unaware of his wife’s racial background or that Irene is “passing” for the day. Despite this initial, awkward encounter, Clare reaches out to Irene to renew their friendship. After a delay, Irene accepts.
As the two women reconnect, they become increasingly involved in each other’s lives and insecurities. Clare admits that she misses the African-American background she has had to repress around John, and Irene invites her out to a jazz club with her own husband, Brian, and their friend Hugh. Hugh is unimpressed, but Irene notices obvious chemistry between her and Brian. They also discuss their past, and Clare insists that she was jealous of Irene’s dependable and moral attitude, while Irene herself envied Clare’s vivacious and free-spirited personality.