It is 1942, and the world is at war, however, Gladys Bostick Holmes is fighting personal battles of her own. Recently widowed, and a single mother of six children, Gladys has relocated to Calhoun County, South Carolina where she struggles to put her life back together. But, for an African-American woman in the racist, Jim Crow South, that is hard to do. Gladys is working as a domestic for a White woman who shorts her pay. The White landlord is overcharging her for the dilapidated property she rents. To make ends meet, Gladys is literally "robbing from Peter to pay Paul." However, despite the adversities, she is keeping a roof over her head, and food in the ice box. Gladys has resolved stay single but, lo and behold, she meets Cephas Young and falls head over heels in love. Through it all, Gladys keeps the Honey in the Rock scripture close to her heart. Scripture says the honey does not come easy. The rock must be climbed and because the honey is in the deep crevices and clefts of the rock, it takes strength and effort to reach it. But Gladys is determined to taste the honey's sweetness, no matter how long it takes.