State Street Chicago, 1999. One summer that changes everything.

An unlikely trio: Felicia ''Fe Fe'' Stevens, daughter of fiercely protective mother; Precious Brown, daughter of a prominent church Elder; and Stacia Buchanan, daughter of a Gangster Disciple Queen-Pin.

They have a simple friendship, whiling away sunny days with games of Double Dutch. But when Fe Fe invites mysterious Tonya into their fold, life as they know it will never be the same again.

Last Summer on State Street is a profound coming-of-age story about the restorative power of community, the claiming of one''s own past, and the defining friendships which form the heartbeat of our lives.