A black war hero returns to his hometown in the South and is welcomed by the white family in which he was employed. All would have gone well if it were not that one of the women of the family has fallen deeply in love with him. On this fundamental basis, the authors show how the hero is overwhelmed by the prejudice that keeps him from being treated not only as a hero but as a man. Though the play is, of course, a plea for decency and justice, it is over and above this an exciting, suspenseful and holding story.
After a quarrel with her boyfriend, Minerva Pinney returns home to Penneyfield. There Minerva hits on a plan to turn her historic New England village into another Colonial Williamsburg and interests the Banning Foundation in funding the restoration. Sarah Pinney, Minerva's ancestor and a Revolutionary heroine who courageously defied General Howe, will be forever enshrined in American history. Then Adam Harwick, her boyfriend, shows up. Minerva is happy to see him until he denigrates the restoration project. Minerva orders him out, but he remains, making himself agreeable to Minerva's mother, who thinks the restoration is rubbish. To annoy Adam, Minerva becomes engaged to Edgar Cameron, who shares her enthusiasm and thinks he could make a profit off of the project.