Patches of Grey is the story of an impoverished African American family. The narrative focus switches among family members, but its center belongs to Tony who is a high school senior with aspirations of college and progressing further towards the American Dream than his parents did. This combined with falling in love with a white classmate put him at odds with his father, who views his son’s ambitions as a form of selling out. Unrealized goals reincarnated in Tony’s eyes remind Lionel of what once could have been, and of what went wrong. Emotional wounds from growing up in the segregated south are still festering. A prejudiced outlook is the only legacy Lionel has to pass down to his children, so when his job and role as primary breadwinner are lost, his authority erodes and he drowns disappointment one drink at a time. This affords Tony an opportunity to assert independence rather than allowing his fate to be set by chance and circumstance. As their security unravels over the course of a tumultuous year, it is uncertain whether the blood they share will be strong enough to hold the Johnson family together.