ne and Sarah Mae just want to see A Hard Day's Night together and have sleepovers. But it's against the law for races to mix in Selma, Alabama. Sarah Mae is determined to invite Gladine to her bat mitzvah.

It's 2019. Johanna is embarrassed to have an "indie bat mitzvah" while her classmate, Valerie Silver, has a silver-themed bat mitzvah party at a boutique-hotel ballroom. Her world view broadens from weekly movie nights with her gay uncle, and stories about the struggles of the civil rights era from her activist Bubbe.

Many historical figures appear in Gladine's Plaid Scarf as well as fictional characters who are amusing, tender-hearted, and full of chutzpah.