The book is about an African American girl who is a coal miner's daughter in the South West Virginia area on the 1950's. The main character, Savannah, had always dreamed while she was growing up of being a princess. There was a mother, father, and brother. They lived in an old 4 room house and had a family dog. They shared a lot of love. The father worked hard as a coal miner and the mother worked daily as a housemaid. Savannah and her brother had plenty of chores to do. Her brother mainly did outdoor work such as cutting word and gathering coal for the stoves. Savannah helped indoors with chores such as cooking and cleaning the house. They attended segregated schools, but when Savannah gradutated from high school, she went to college in England on an academic scholarship. It was there that she met a prince, her future husband.