Set against the landscape of the Mississippi Delta in the 1940's, the story follows the close friendship of two young women, each of a different race, and their struggle to find purpose in their lives during this time of social injustice and world war. When Virginia Wilder is visiting her Aunt Millie this Christmas, she discovers a stack of handwritten letters over a half-century old, and unlocks the story of her aunt's youthful days as a young woman living in Hamilton, Mississippi during the Second World War. In a time when a woman's place was in the home, young Emily ventures out and falls in love with a young soldier, eventually carrying his baby out of wedlock. With the support of her best friend Wilma Watson and their draft-dodging companion Will Bacon, Emily is able to stand by her convictions in a household dominated by the standards of a salt-of-the-earth father and an unconditionally loving mother. Despite the disapproval of society, Emily follows her heart to overcome the prejudice of her time.