In Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 there are lines. Lines that are not crossed. Black maids raise the white children, but no one trusts them not to steal the silver. Everyone stays within the lines. But suddenly three women, Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny, find themselves tired of the lines and they vow to come together for a clandestine project that will put all of them at risk. This is Karen Stockett's first novel.