In the midst of Newark, New Jersey's urban decay and newfound revitalization, Asha, a brilliant, sensual social worker and director of the New Day Job Placement Program for ex-convicts, struggles to uncover the horrific secrets that have led to a history of what has been called mental illness in generations of women in her family. At a time when everything in her life seems all so unstableher ill-conceived lust for a former client and ex-con, the collapsing relationships she shares with her sisters, and her grandmother's failing health and apparent manic hallucinationsAsha is forced to confront a haunted past that may very well destroy her future. M.L. Cooper's Dark Side of Grace follows Asha through the poverty infested streets of Newark, New Jersey to the old-world Spanish moss laden landscape of the South Carolina coast in pursuit of slave master Henry Tisdale's ghost. Master Henry's torments and haunts drive Asha to the point of no return. Asha's quest to undo the family curse that binds them to the ghastly, malevolent apparition reveals her hidden connection to black magic, voodoo and Santeria, and seals her love for the only man strong enough to stand by her side.