In the fictional town of Zion during the Great Depression, a widowed farmer is raising his son Buddy, whose brain was damaged at age 4 during a near-drowning,

A disillusioned preacher, C.C. Showers, who left his practice, comes to the farm seeking employment and food. A unique bond develops between the troubled but gifted Buddy, and a man who represents salvation to the beleaguered townspeople.