Midnights and Monkeys is a drama about a former civil rights activist whose violent past catches up with her. It’s about dark secrets that won’t go away no matter how much time and distance pass.

The story revolves around Gemma, a White woman living in San Francisco. From all appearances, Gemma has it all – she is happily married with a healthy daughter and a fulfilling professional life as a clinical psychologist.

Although Gemma’s job is to help therapy clients overcome issues from their past, she’s been unable to accomplish this in her own life. In fact, she’s spent most of her adulthood trying to forget her past - terrorizing memories of the South where she was a Freedom Rider during the 1960’s.

But on the day of the Rodney King riots it becomes impossible for Gemma to escape her past. The rage and brutality in the streets reminds her of the South - especially of Bloody Sunday, the peace march from Selma to Montgomery viciously attacked by white supremacists. Then, a new client - a Black man - shows up in her therapy office triggering haunting memories of a secret she’s guarded since 1965.

Gemma’s life unravels. Keeping her secret proves dangerous and she risks everything if she doesn’t reveal it – her marriage, her daughter, her job, her sanity…

Copyright 2005 Melissa Carlton McLeod
All Rights Reserved