Optimistic and strong, Cephus Miles is content to work the land on the small North Carolina farm he inherited from his family. Everything is as it should be until his childhood sweetheart rejects him and goes off to college. Opposed to the war in Vietnam, Cephus refuses to serve and is imprisoned as a draft evader. By the time he is released, Cephus has lost his land to the tax collector, so he heads north to build a new life. With a good job and a slinky new girlfriend, he finds the big city exciting and rewarding. But soon the dream begins to fade—he loses his job and becomes involved in drugs and prostitution. Pulling himself together, Cephus returns to the land and his old sweetheart. They left to seek happiness elsewhere, and they have returned to one another older, wiser, and aware of the true meaning of HOME.