Young teenage boy living in southern Illinois during the post-Civil War era encounters Ku Klux Klan hostility. Klan threatens to hang his friend a former slave for an involvement in the killing of a rabid dog owned by Klan member. Young man rouses townspeople to intervene. Young man also encounters girl for whom he develops feelings and together his rise to protect his friend gives him foresight into his future.which demands a redirection of the path he was going to take. Girl also returns feeling but does not show them until the end when young man goes off to meet his future.