Mark Watson, the pampered son of a wealthy family, is about to attend
Harvard Law School, along with his best friend Gordon. Unfortunately, his father's neurotic psychiatrist convinces his patient to focus on his happiness instead of spending money on his son. Mark is denied a
student loan and the only scholarship he sees is for
African Americans. He decides to cheat by using
tanning pills, in a larger dose than prescribed, to appear as an African American. Watson then sets out for Harvard, naïvely believing that black people have no problems at all in American society. However, once immersed in a black student's life, Mark finds out that prejudice and racism truly exist. He meets a young African American student named Sarah Walker, whom he only flirts with at first; gradually, however, he genuinely falls in love with her. In passing, she mentions that he received the scholarship she was in the running for at the last minute. Due to this, she not only has to handle her classes but also work as a waitress to support herself and her young son, George. Slowly, Mark begins to regret his decision as he continues to experience problems because of his skin tone. Mark is jailed with uneducated, slovenly locals who take out their frustration with a team's loss to black athletes by assaulting Mark. He also finds himself subjected to
sexual harassment by his landlord's daughter, Whitney, who is eager to explore what she perceives to be the "exotic" thrill of sleeping with a black man. After a chaotic day in which Sarah, his parents (who are not aware of his double life), and Whitney all make surprise visits at the same time, Mark drops the charade and publicly reveals himself to be white. He is surprised many will forgive him after considering his reasons, but Sarah is furious. Mark has a private conversation with his professor. He has learned more than he bargained for, admitting that he still doesn't know what it is like to be black because he could have changed back to being white at any time. Mark forfeits his scholarship but gets a loan (albeit at high interest). He goes to Sarah and begs for another chance, to which she agrees after Mark stands up for her and George when two male students tell a racist joke in front of them. ==Cast==