A vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy plagues the contemporary Mississippi Delta; the legacy of slavery, sharecropping and the cotton industry. In this setting, against imposing odds and extreme hardship, great-grandmother LaLee Wallace, head of the African-American Wallace family, struggles to ensure a better future for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Also fighting poverty is Reggie Barnes, Superintendent of schools in the district. The school district is on probation from the state because of its low performance on standardized tests. But Barnes feels that his teachers face special problems trying to educate the children of illiterate parents, and he knows that if they can break this vicious cycle, there will be hope for the future.