This picture book highlights the persistence of prejudice long after emancipation: it presents a fictionalised version of an incident in 1927 when Bessie Smith faced down members of the Ku Klux Klan, who were intending to disrupt her show in the city of Concord. A young fan, Emmarene, witness an extraordinary confrontation between her heroine and the 'Night Riders' - who quail before Bessie's regal contempt. The bold illustrations reinforce the theatrical style of the story, and an author's afterword gives more details of the background to the event.