The novel follows three main storylines. The central figure, Joe Christmas, is an enigmatic drifter with ambiguous racial heritage who struggles with his identity and societal rejection. His tumultuous life spirals into violence when he kills Joanna Burden, a spinster who has a controversial history in the town due to her abolitionist ancestry. Joe’s flight and eventual death at the hands of a vigilante group encapsulate his tragic existence. Parallel to Joe's story is that of Lena Grove, a pregnant young woman who has walked from Alabama in search of her child’s father, Lucas Burch. Her journey leads her to Byron Bunch, a lonely mill worker who becomes infatuated with her and seeks to protect her despite her devotion to Lucas. The third thread involves Reverend Gail Hightower, a disillusioned minister haunted by his family’s Confederate past. Through his interactions with the other characters, he undergoes a personal reckoning, grappling with his failures and finding a semblance of redemption.