peers. She meets Maria, a schoolgirl who invites her to go steady with a certain boy; she agrees. Through this connection, Birdie becomes close friends with a group of girls who call themselves the Brown Sugars, and her popularity flourishes. Near the end of the school year, Birdie's parents finally divorce and Deck announces that he is moving to Brazil with his new girlfriend, Carmen, and taking Cole with him. A traumatized Birdie is left with her grieving mother. Sandy fears she is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (COINTELPRO) for terrorist activities and the two take off. Birdie becomes Jesse Goldman, a girl with Jewish ancestry. Her mother becomes Sheila Goldman. Part 2: "From Caucasia with love" Sandy and Birdie are on the run for four years, in the land of "Caucasia". With fake identities, they become the widow Sheila Goldman and Jewish, white daughter Jesse Goldman. Sheila/Sandy is able to find jobs wherever she and Jesse/Birdie go because she plays up her whiteness and well-educated demeanor. Sandy/Sheila finally decides to settle down in a small town in New Hampshire, where she and Birdie/Jesse rent out a small cottage maintained by Walter and Libby Marsh. Birdie/Jesse meets the Marsh's son, fifteen-year-old Nicholas Marsh, who is home for the summer before heading back to Exeter for school. He makes some romantic advances towards Birdie. Sandy meets a Jim Campbell at the bar and a relationship begins to form, much to Birdie's displeasure. Birdie begins to realize she wants to be identified as African American when Nicholas calls her "Poca"— a reference to her skin tone in the light. When summer ends, Nicholas heads back to Exeter and Birdie attends the local public school with the other "townies". Birdie ends up befriending a clique of white girls by imitating their appearances and interests. In this school, Birdie notices Samantha Taper, who is also biracial, but unlike Birdie, does not "pass" as Caucasian and is bullied for it. Birdie finds a postcard from Dot in Sandy's room and realizes she has been in contact with the family after all. By Christmas, Sandy has told Jim the truth about their true identities, including Birdie's parentage. Birdie feels betrayed and begins to question if the FBI was ever after her mother. By the end of this section, she decides to run away from home to Boston and look for her Aunt Dot,