Joshua Binks, a poor black boy growing up with his single mother set against the racial background of Southern America during the early 1930s, has a very vivid imagination in possessing a secret divine, as his life unfolds, and is seen through his innocent eyes and a pure heart of a child in infancy and youth. Joshua's world is inhabited by fictional characters of fairytale and make believe muses who come to life within Joshua's fantasy dream world, as it is this setting where we are led into Joshua's world of animated and colorful characters open to his bemusement, as Joshua also has a unique and mysteriously transcending connection that is tied to the trees that often whisper his name within this world, taking his mind into a place of fantasy.

During his childhood, Joshua has an accident, which changes the course of his life and takes away his ability to communicate without stuttering and so adds to his disappointment and disadvantages in his life. As the events of Joshua's tragic life unfold, we are also led back and forth into his world of fantasy. Joshua also experiences racial prejudice and discrimination from his peers when he fails to enlist into the army and is made to work as a kitchen porter, although in his waking dreams where he relies upon the narrative of the stories that were once etched into his imagination, he is still very much frowned upon and looked down and treated unfairly.

As a kitchen porter in the army, Joshua also becomes the concern and a friend to his fellow comrades and potential soldiers in the making, although they seem to pity his disposition. As his relationships begin to blossom amongst the elements of racial tension, it is under this climate that things begin to develop as Joshua is taken under the wing of a young Christian girl who attempts to teach him to read and write. But just when things appear to be progressing, once again, the racial tension boils over until there is a bitter feud involving this simple and naive Joshua, which results in him trying to help his friend escape, and by doing so, he is made to be the victim of a tragic event.