Sam Tucker, a cotton picker, in search of a better future for his family, decides to grow his own cotton crop. In the first year, the Tuckers battle disease, a flood, and a jealous neighbor. Can they make it as farmers?

Sharecropper's son Marvin tries to help his community overcome poverty and ignorance.

Mary Ryan enlists the help of a detective, Jack Craig, to find her missing twin sister Vicky. They follow her trail to the New Orleans swamps where they encounter voodoo priestess Olivier and her zombie henchman.

Nappus sends his grandson north for schooling to shelter him from their community.