Joshua Clay has been given a remarkable opportunity for a young black man from Philadelphia in the early 1930s: He is going to South Africa. Twenty-eight and already a preacher and level-headed leader, Joshua is sent to South Africa as a missionary to "civilize" the Africans, and he intends to follow his mission to the satisfaction of his benefactors. As he sets off on his journey across the Atlantic, with the ghost of his fallen cousin lingering close and the expectations of those at home strong, Joshua is unaware of the changes that lay ahead for him. After arriving, he falls in love and marries a local woman and becomes close to the village folk. Slowly, he begins to realize that the changes he is experiencing in Africa will not only test his strength and faith, but will open his eyes to his true identity, and to the meaning of love and respect in God's eyes.