Zachary, the middle son in a loving but chaotic working-class African-American family, is the guardian of secrets, the one his kin turn to with their emotional burdens. An unassuming man, he finds social work entirely natural, "nothing more than helping some people get through their day." Korie, a child of upper-middle-class professionals in the West Indies, is a more driven soul, but her fiercely competent exterior belies emotional storms.

When she meets Zach on a reporting assignment in Philadelphia, she is immediately drawn to this easygoing man in whom so many people place their trust. Zach, equally fascinated, quickly fosters a relationship. But what begins as a passionate affair becomes increasingly troubled. Zachary's Wings turns on questions of race and sexuality, class and culture, and the intricate tangle of secrets that begin to consume Zach and Korie's lives.