At work, Julie, who is white, meets Frank Richards, who is black, and the two strike up a friendship that blossoms into a romance.

When Frank learns what has happened, he is intensely frustrated by his inability to defend his wife by directly confronting Joe, since he knows that if he does, that will be the end of whatever small chance he and Julie have of winning the custody case.

The judge recognizes that the family situation in the Richards home is superior for Ellen in every way except for the fact that she is white, growing up in a black household.

While the judge does not condone racial prejudices and agrees that they should be fought, he also says that he cannot ignore that they exist and, if Ellen remains with Frank and Julie, will negatively impact her when she reaches adulthood.

When Joe arrives to pick up Ellen, she is excited, initially under the impression that her father is taking her for a short visit from which she will soon return.

[1] For her role as Julie Cullen Richards, Barrie won the Best Actress award at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, in a tie with Anne Bancroft for The Pumpkin Eater.