The story is set in the Reconstruction Period in Washington D.C. Mr. Daniel Murray was an assistant librarian at the Library of Congress. Mr. Murray was born in 1851 in Washington D.C. This period of Reconstruction was a difficult era, but it was even more so for negroes. Mr. Murray and his family were well off and educated, but the social system caused many problems. Mr. Murray along with many others, some doctors and educators, were persistent in changing things for the better. They knew that being regarded as second class citizens was discrimination.
In the social circle, many negroes were able to attend gala parties and churches of their own. Many also continued their education. This book shows people of color were prosperous in the midst of the myth that during the 1800's, they were ignorant. Mr. Daniel Murray died in 1925 at the age of 74.