The summer of 1936 in Parsons, Georgia, is unseasonably hot. Opal Pruitt and her Grandma Birdie work as housekeepers for the white widow Miss Peggy. When the Ku Klux Klan descends on Opal's neighborhood, the community is shaken in every way possible. Parsons's residents are forced to acknowledge the unspoken codes of conduct in their town. To complicate matters, Opal finds herself torn between two romantic interests - the son of her pastor, Cedric Perkins, and the white grandson of the woman she works for, Jimmy Earl Ketchums. Faced with love, loss, and a harsh awakening to an ugly world, Opal holds tight to her family and faith - and the hope for change.