Charles Blandin is a big league pitcher for the Washington Senators who finds himself in a tight spot during a 1930 exhibition game against the Negro Leagues' Black Diamonds. He's not only pitching for the game, but for the white race-and to settle an argument that began in his head back when he was thirteen years old.

As a boy, Charles had forged an unexpected friendship with Otis Osgood, a Negro with whom he shared a passion for baseball. His white-supremacist father had taught Charles to distrust Negroes, but he couldn't help but put the Osgoods in a separate category. When Charles sought pitching tips from Otis's father, his dad took violent action to permanently end Charles's relationship with the Osgoods.

In the years ahead Charles wrestles with his feelings. He wants to trust his father's judgment and to believe Negroes are inferior, but he misses Otis's friendship. This dichotomy sparks a confusing internal argument for Charles that lasts into adulthood.

Now on the pitcher's mound years later, he faces the batter-his childhood friend, Otis. How has his life come to this point? And where will it lead once this next pitch leaves his hand?