A Southern minister is assigned to a poor church in California where the congregation is drifting away and the church itself is scheduled for demolition.

Buddy Evans manages events at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He is a confirmed bachelor who lives with his housekeeper Celia. After coming into contact with several children, Buddy decides that he is ready to be a father. Buddy decides to hire a surrogate mother in the hope of having a son.

A pair of thieves operate in the American South between 1911 and 1915, stealing from rich, white capitalists, and giving to Mexicans, Native Americans and poor whites.