Civil War veteran Josiah Grey comes to a small town to be a gospel minister. In time he has a family and many friends, but he also finds friction with a few of his parishioners. A young doctor grates at what he feels is the parson's interference in the scientific treatment of patients, and a mine owner resents Grey's protection of an old sharecropper whose small plot of land stands in the way of his continued mining. Grey must face a public health crisis and a lynch mob as a result, all seen and described through the eyes and memory of Grey's young nephew John.
Reese Donahue (Jessica Rothe) an aspiring writer, works hard to keep from working. She suffers from a strong case of entitlement. Her mother died when she was sixteen, and her father, Grayson Donahue (Kevin Kilner) tries to give Reese and her sister, Audrey (Louise Dylan) all that they need. When a family secret is uncovered, Reese feels betrayed, and alone, and is faced with a decision, to take what her mother wanted for her, or to stay in a predestined life that’s not nearly as exciting as the unknown.