Elderly Zassy, mother of the legendary Bayou Jesus, reveals the poignant story of her son Frank's spiritual journey which begins on the day the two of them are taken in to serve at the Boudreaux family's Bellwether plantation. Samson Boudreaux, master of Bellwether, returns from WWI to find he has lost control of the plantation and his family. Pushed to the edge by the inevitability of changing times, he feels his ingrained beliefs slipping through his fingers and each member of the household has to face the situation in their own way. Frank begins a mythical journey into the bayou to find himself and God and gathers followers and an imposing disciple along the way. But Alice, in her quest for unconditional love and a higher truth, has made a decision that seals not only the fates of the man known as Bayou Jesus, but her own and everyone she loves as well.