When Sissy is thrown out of her apartment for not paying the rent (and a mattress fire), she moves in with Suzanne. Suzanne jumps at the opportunity to co-write an article with Sissy to boost her image, about the ""interracial bond"" that she and her housekeeper, Sapphire, share. Sissy seems to be in Heaven staying with the caring Sugarbaker clan, who make her stay feel more like home than anywhere she had ever been. But when Ann Gilroy, Sissy's old rival, comes to town, Suzanne tries to make her look good by insisting that the house belongs to Sissy. Though Suzanne was supposed to learn a lesson about writing, Sissy is the one who learns a lesson--about friendship.