Step into 1933 and the heart of the Great Depression in Hell's Neck, Indiana. Elmer "Doc" Gentry, a widowed father, farmer, and house calling doctor runs for state legislature when he discovers corruption at the KKK-controlled State House. When a late-night rap on his door reveals a gross injustice suffered by the black community across the river, Doc sets out on a dual mission to rectify their injustice and find the missing funds meant for President Roosevelt's New Deal program.
Ignoring a midnight, torch-lit parade by a mob in white robes and threats to his life, Doc and his family unite the black settlers of nearby Lyles Junction with his white Hell's Neck neighbors in battling racial injustice, poverty, and political corruption. With courage, faith, fortitude and the aid of inquisitive newspaper editor Jackson Stout, Doc's pursuit reaches a torrid climax at the annual Watermelon Festival at summer's end where he is surprised to find help from an unexpected source and his suspicion of an old dancehall/speakeasy on the Wabash River is confirmed.
In this time of racial injustice, tribalism, poverty, and polemic political leadership, this story of heart-rending compassion, forgiveness and redemption is a historical antecedent to the problems our nation faces today. It poses the question: How are we ever going to get along if we never get to know each other?
