Set in a rural, southern mountain town in the United States during an era of uncertainties due to the Vietnam War and new civil rights laws, this is a story of an unassuming woman who courageously follows her heart. The American South tends to produce strong women. Celia is no exception. She lives and loves honestly. Orphaned as a teenager, she manages to see herself and her younger brother into adulthood by waitressing at a diner and raising chickens. Her brother joins the Army as she marries a good man who claimed love at first sight. Tragically, she loses both of them. In her grief, Celia discovers a new and lasting love with a man who long admired her from afar. It does not matter to her that his skin is darker than hers.