Brownie is the fictionalized biography of Patty Pullen's grandmother. The story is told in her grandmother's voice. The setting is rural central Virginia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The story involves not only her Scots-Irish ancestry but her Monocan Indian roots as well. It is the story not only of race relations but of coming of age in the south in the the early 20th century. Much of the story is based on extensive conversations Patty had with her mother, grandmother, and other relatives.