After Chance Howard, the man they call Brother Word, lays his healing hands on the sick he seems to the townspeople to disappear. But actually he is running - not only from the curious and the sceptics - but from his own pain. Two years earlier, though her faith that God would heal her through her husband never waned, Chance's beautiful young wife died from a painful illness. Blaming himself because his gift couldn't help her left Chance racked with guilt, remorse and doubt. After the old pastor recovers, Chance breaks his own rule, stays and lays hands on three others. One of them, a child, is the nephew of a newspaper reporter hungry for a career saving story. The other is a young female minister who bears an uncanny resemblance to his dead wife. Each of them, for their own reasons, decide they must discover who Chance really is and whether his gift is truly from God.