Dorothy Borden, the daughter of the first black lawyer in Granston, N.C, went north for her education but returns home ater a failed first marriage. Joe Cephus Divine is Granston's first black police officer and wants to improve his status by marrying an educated woman. He chooses Dorothy, a schoolteacher, but he is abusive and she flees the marriage. He then marries Johnnye Jamison, another schoolteacher, who feigns interest in the men who pursue her but is really only interested in their money.
