Passing is a novel by American author Nella Larsen. Set primarily in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the 1920s, the story centers on the reunion of two childhood friends-Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield-and their increasing fascination with each other's lives.
Clare Kendry, elegant, fair-skinned and ambitious, is married to a white man who is unaware of her African-American heritage. When she reunites with childhood friend Irene, who has not hidden her origins, both women are forced to confront the secret fears they have buried within themselves.
Nella Larsen's novel Passing is easily among the most penetrating, skillfully composed explorations of race and gender in the twentieth century.