Adella sees those around her as shining with innate colors and patterns. She is the exception to this phenomenon. Most important to Adella are her two friends, Phoebe and Marcus, who shine with yellow and blue patterns. During Phoebe’s birthday party, however, Adella comes to realize that her friends’ projections onto her are contrary to who she wants to be. The story ends with Adella deciding that if she were to choose a color to identify herself by, she would choose vermilion.

Vermillion is a dramatic story of self-actualization, exploring the connection between perception, invisibility, influence, and self-image.