The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll'd

Karma (Kara Young), a black teenager in the foster care system, is looking for her foster brother Terrell, who has gone missing within the Oblong-a fictional inner city that Payne describes as "an island isolated by poverty." Maybe he's run away; maybe it's drugs; maybe he's dead; or maybe he's simply lost somewhere in the depths of an uncaring society. As Karma sleuths, she pries clues from a wide variety of characters: an undertaker who profits from abundant death (Lynda Gravátt), a veteran teacher with a poor recollection of his students (Kenneth Tigar), and several others, all of whom tend to be quick to disregard her.