<P> Set in the fictitious town of Sylvan, South Carolina, in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of a 14 - year - old white girl, Lily Melissa Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed . She lives in a house with her abusive father, whom she refers to as T. Ray . They have a no - nonsense maid, Rosaleen, who acts as a surrogate mother for Lily . The book opens with Lily's discovery of bees in her bedroom . Then, after Rosaleen is arrested for pouring her bottle of "snuff juice" on three white men, Lily breaks her out of the hospital and they decide to leave town . They begin hitch - hiking toward Tiburon, SC, a place written on the back of an image of the Virgin Mary as a black woman, which Deborah, her mother, had owned . They spend a night in the woods with little food and little hope before reaching Tiburon . There, they buy lunch at a general store, and Lily recognizes a picture of the same "Black Mary" but on the side of a jar of honey . They receive directions to the origin of that honey, the Boatwright residence . They are introduced to the Boatwright sisters, the makers of the honey: August, May, and June, who are all black . Lily makes up a story about being an orphan . Lily and Rosaleen are invited to stay with the sisters . </P> <P> They learn the ways of the Boatwrights, as well as the ways of bee keeping . With a new home and a new family for the time being, Lily learns more about the Black Madonna honey that the sisters make . She begins working as August's bee keeping apprentice to repay her for her kindness, while Rosaleen works around the house . Lily finds out that May had a twin sister, April, who committed suicide with their father's shotgun when they were younger . She watches June's ongoing flirtations with, and refusals of marriage to, her boyfriend Neil . Lily and Rosaleen also get to see the sisters' form of religion . They hold service at their house which they call "The Daughters of Mary ." They keep a statue of "Black Mary", or "our lady of chains", which was actually a figurehead from the bow of an ancient ship, and August tells the story of how a man by the name of Obadiah, who was a slave, found this figure . The slaves thought that God had answered their prayers asking for rescue, and "to send them consolation" and "to send them freedom". It gave them hope, and the figure had been passed down for generations . </P> <P> Lily meets Zach, August's godson . They soon develop intimate feelings for each other . They share goals with each other while working the hives . Both Lily and Zach find their goals nearly impossible to meet but still encourage each other to attempt them . Zach wants to be the "ass - busting lawyer", which means he would be the first black lawyer in the area . Lily wants to be a short story writer . </P> <P> Lily attempts to tell August the truth but is interrupted by Zach, who takes her for a honey run . They stop at a store to pick up a few things . Zach gets arrested after one of his friends, who they had met at the store, throws a coke bottle at a white man and none of them will tell who did it . Zach and his friends are arrested and put in jail . The Boatwright house decides not to tell May in fear of an unbearable emotional episode . The secret does not stay hidden for long and May becomes catatonic with depression . May leaves the house and August, June, Lily and Rosaleen find her lying dead in the river with a rock on her chest, an apparent suicide . </P>

When did may die in the secret life of bees