 Earl Pilcher (Duvall), owner of an equipment rental company in a small town in Arkansas, receives a shocking letter from his mother upon her death.She reveals that Earl's biological mother was a Black American maid named Willa Mae, who was raped by Earl's (white) father and that she died while giving birth to Earl.His adoptive mother's dying wish is that he go to Chicago to meet his half-brother, Raymond Murdock (Jones).