Nel Wright and Sula Peace met as children in the small town of Medallion, Ohio. Their devotion is fierce enough to withstand bullies and the burden of a dreadful secret. It endures into adulthood even after Nel has grown up to be a pillar of the black community and Sula has become a pariah. But their friendship ends in an unforgivable betrayal—or does it? The terrifying, comic, ribald and tragic novel explores the mysteries of death and sex, friendship and poverty to answer the question.