When Jay Stevens' best friend Jimmy Burletson, made the decision to keep the black baby that somebody had abandoned on his front porch, Jay had to make a choice. He could either accept what Jimmy had done, despite how crazy it was, or he could turn his back on his friend. Then too, there was the problem of the good-looking high-yaller named Sweet Alice Nelson, whom Jimmy had hired to help out. She was always around, and, to Jay's consternation, he found he enjoyed being in her company. That was a strange feeling for a white man in Southwest Mississippi, and he knew it. When Sweet Alice moved to New Orleans, Jay could have put her put of his life completely then and there, but he didn't. If he had, his life would have been very different, but he was quite certain it wouldn't have been as interesting.