Prince George's County, one of Maryland's most populous counties, has a rich and vibrant history. From agriculture to industry, school life to religious life, trolleys, trains, and tobacco, the people of this area share a distinctive regional heritage and a great pride in the communities they have built. With numerous recognized historic sites, Prince George's County boasts, among others, Mount Calvert, the only structure remaining at the site of the first county seat; Melwood Park and the Magruder House, both visited by George Washington; and His Lordship's Kindness, a five-part Georgian mansion. Other historic buildings were not elegant manors, but functional public facilities. The College Park Airport holds the record as the oldest continuously operating airport in the world, and the Surratt House played a role in the assassination plot of Abraham Lincoln. But the everyday lives of citizens are represented here as well, in the images of early residents, their homes and businesses, of the city services and social events, of elementary school classes and congregations. All can be found within these pages.

In the sprawling homes and upscale townhouses of the exclusive, largely African American Prince George’s County, the lives of five women intersect–and the secrets, scandals, loves, and losses that ensue are par for the course where power, beauty, and wealth reside. Barbara is the most influential woman in this swanky neighborhood, but she’s got her hands full–one hand is busy dealing with her husband’s wandering eye, while the other always needs a cocktail glass. Jolene is half of P.G. County’s number-two couple–and she desperately wants what she doesn’t have: namely Barbara’s husband. Pearl owns a hair salon and lives on the outskirts of the posh community with her son, Kenyatta. She’s not only juggling a growing business and a bad divorce, but now she’s has to cope with Kenyatta’s less-than-ideal girlfriend. Candice is white and liberal, but her daughter’s new beau tests her beliefs–and opens a can of worms she never knew existed. Lee is a runaway teen, a girl whose only connection to her father is an old photo and the belief that he’s well-off and waiting for her in . . . P.G. COUNTY From the Trade Paperback edition.