Through flashbacks, points on politics and independence are strongly brought out, since the political struggles for independence in Belize at that time also mirrors Beka's own need for self-rule and her developing maturity. Beka's father (Bill Lamb) cuts down Beka's favorite tree (a bougainvillea) as a sign that the wild ways Beka had picked up must stop at once when she finally tells him that she has failed her exam.
The book deals with social insecurity, racial prejudice and the rule of the conservative church in a small town. The book's protagonist, Beka Lamb, is a 14-year-old Belizean girl.