In Graniteville, South Carolina, two families shelter their lives in the shadows of the great cotton mill: the wealthy Greggs, owners of the mill and scions of the local society; and the working-class McEvoys, who tend the gardens and work the plant floor. Robert McEvoy is forced to have his leg amputated during an incident which is rumored to have been caused by the son of the mill's founder. When Robert bitterly leaves Graniteville and returns two years later, he finds his mother dead and his father working on the factory line, his beloved gardens forgotten. Robert's rage consumes both families.