At the tender age of fourteen, Jin Matthews watched in horror as her home along with her precious grandmother went up in flames. There was nothing she could do but cry and scream, as her uncle held her in his tight embrace. She screamed hard and long until she lost her voice. But seeing her home go up in flames was not the only reason Jin lost her voice.

Thrown into a world of speechlessness, Jin was bullied by her peers and debased by the very woman who was supposed to take care of her. She felt lost and rejected. One thing that kept her steadfast... remembering her grandmother's words..." Never allow your education to suffer. That is the one thing that no one can take from you."

When Jin met the woman to be her adopted mother, there was an instant connection. Esther had lost her husband and any hope of having children. As mother and daughter, the two became inseparable. Exhausting all means of regaining her voice, Jin brought Esther into the world of sign language.

When Jin graduated from the university with her Ph.D. in neuroscience, she could not have been happier, but one thing was missing. She loved Esther with all her heart, but she needed to know where she came from. She needed to know her grandmother's family.

Jin was shocked to find out that her family was the Rahjah Rastafarians, A culture of Rastafarians who lived in the Blue Mountain. A people of peace and immense wealth. The day she found her family was the day she found her voice.

Janice Angelique