This book is a detailed study of the lives of a group of young Brazilians living in the greater Boston area, the majority of whom entered the country illegally. It explores the extent to which their origins in a more racially fluid environment affects their adaptation to a society with a much more rigid form of racial categorization. In what ways does their adaptation to the racial hierarchy influence their lives in the United States and how their varying ancestry and legal status impact this process? The book provides further insight into the debate about "post-racialism" and the changing dynamics of race relations in contemporary American society.