Imitation of Life plot
"Fannie Hurst's best selling novel of today's tormented generation!"
Lora is an actress who just can't seem to break through. One day at the beach, Lora and her daughter meet black Annie and her white-looking daughter Sarah Jane. Annie is desperately looking for shelter and she and Sarah Jane are allowed to move in with Lora as a domestic help. As the years pass, Lora's success comes as an actress and the four remain together all the while. But from an early age Sarah Jane has had problems with being black and tries to hide it as best she can from the outside world, much to her mother's chagrin.