The novel begins with Denver Moore, who lives in rural Louisiana, recounting the life and death of many of his family members. He has lived an impoverished life and was raised by a family of share-croppers. Denver makes the connection between farming and slavery, by proclaiming that farming was essentially a form of economic slavery.
When Denver was young, he helped a white woman who was pulled over due to car trouble, and he was attacked by a mob of young whites.
Denver attempts to hold up a bus at gunpoint in an attempt to "make" money, but then turns himself in and spends ten years in jail.
The story shifts to Ron Hall and his wife Deborah who step in as missionaries and the harbingers of hope. The novel alternates between Denver's experiences and Ron's experiences and shows how even the most unlikely person can be the one from which you learn the most.
When Denver was young, he helped a white woman who was pulled over due to car trouble, and he was attacked by a mob of young whites.
Denver attempts to hold up a bus at gunpoint in an attempt to "make" money, but then turns himself in and spends ten years in jail.
The story shifts to Ron Hall and his wife Deborah who step in as missionaries and the harbingers of hope. The novel alternates between Denver's experiences and Ron's experiences and shows how even the most unlikely person can be the one from which you learn the most.