This novel was inspired by the dedicated work of Stanley Ann Dunham Soetero in the last year of her life, who died before her son Barack Obama became president of the United States. Stanley's father had wished for a boy. When she was born, he surprisingly named her Stanley. In her life, the admirable and legendary Stanley Ann Soetero became an American economic and cultural anthropologist who worked diligently and with great compassion in helping the peasants of Kajar, Indonesia. The novel creates a family of villagers and friends and we are privy to Stanley's innermost thoughts as she explores the depth of love and friendship in search of her own identity as she works to obtain microfinance loans to help the Indonesian cottage industries. Maxwell created this book to show Stanley as the quiet yet powerful woman that she was.