Before the supermarket boom, corner markets dominated neighborhoods where most people did their grocery shopping. These corner markets sold all of your staples. They were hospitable and served as a junction to exchange ideas, beliefs, and gossip in much the same way as barbershops and beauty salons still do today. The Family Stone is set in the memory of these institutions long gone from most American economic landscapes.

It is the year following the long, hot summer in America. Abraham and Winona Stone are the proud owners of Willie's Market, a modest corner grocery store in a working-class urban community. The Civil Rights movement is at full throttle. The fight for social equality does not halt personal drama. Intriguing neighborhood sagas of life, death, love, heartbreak, betrayal, hope, faith, and redemption play out against the fiery backdrop of civil unrest.