It's Rebecca's first day in the eighth grade and the fourteen year old girl is excited. Her whole life she has been dreaming of this moment, the day when she will finally be queen of the school. For the eighth grade is the highest grade at Robert E. Lee Middle School. She had heard the big brouhaha about the changing of the school district, the redrawing of its boundaries and the busing in of kids from some of the housing projects in West End but she hadn't paid it any mind.
When 14-year-old Devante is wandering around Manhattan, he accidentally stumbles upon Beverly Moore; a blond six-foot-tall self-defense instructor who bills herself as the Karate Queen. Immediately, he knows he has to break her. What follows is his story as he puts into action a devilish plan during which, not only will he defeat Beverly in single combat, but he'll make it clear to her that she is well and truly conquered by making her shatter the ultimate taboo with her own 14-year-old son.