A few moments after birth, Lisbeth is taken from the arms of her mother and immediately handed to those of a black wet nurse named Mattie. Mattie is a slave, and upon the orders of her master, she is forced to leave her own child and care for another. Lisbeth and Mattie then form an unlikely bond that grows only stronger through the years. Lisbeth comes to know a life of privilege and affluence, but neither is enough to ease away the loneliness brought by the company of her subservient mother and indifferent father. Over time, Mattie becomes more like family to her than her own flesh and blood. Their hearts grow even closer—their bond even stronger—with every visit to the quarters of the slaves as well as their warm, welcoming community. Laila Ibrahim's Yellow Crocus is a story set in the turbulent mid-1850s—a period when tensions are high and the country is at the brink of change. It tells of the bond between two women from opposite worlds—a love that is undimmed by time, unbound by race.
