Passing is a novel by Nella Larsen, first published in 1929. The story centers on two light-skinned African American women, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry. While Irene lives within the Black community and embraces her racial identity, Clare chooses to pass as a white woman in order to gain the social status and opportunities available to white people at the time. Years later, the two women reunite, and their relationship becomes increasingly complex, raising questions about identity, belonging, race, social class, and the personal cost of concealing one's true self.