Through the middle decades of the Twentieth Century a large Southern family struggles for economic security and social respectability. Hardships, disappointments and catastrophes, ranging from the father's alcoholism to an accidental gun death, threaten to overwhelm even the most determined and resilient members of the Cooke family. The Cookes, along with other inhabitants of their rural community, must cope not only with personal weaknesses and conflicts but also with the changing world around them: the southeastern United States as it evolves from an agricultural to an industrial economy-- a generational shift from farm to factory.