Twenty-eight-year-old Tommy Lee Tyson left Swamp Creek Arkansas at eighteen, vowing never to return. Yet fate and a Ph.D. in Black Studies force him back to his origins as he seeks to understand himself and the community that birthed him. A cold father and an indifferent mother make his return almost unbearable, and the discovery of his baby sister's death and burial in the backyard consumes him. Over the course of a one-week visit, marked by tension, heartache and revelation, Tommy Lee discovers truths about his family, his community, and his undeniable connection to southern black folk.