Laurel Mae Blair wants out — out of the coal camp, out of the mountains, out of Kentucky. Her loving family lives in a company-owned shack, spending their meager income at the company-owned store. While Laurel has always been restless, her desperation comes with the recognition that they are poor. As she grows more aware of their station, Laurel becomes ashamed of her family’s poverty. Obsessed with leaving the coal camp and the slave-like conditions behind, she longs to turn her back on her life and family to run to the Promised Land — Indiana.
Laurel Mae marries, and talks her husband into leaving his beloved home in Eastern Kentucky. Determined to fit into a higher socioeconomic class in Indiana, she denounces her heritage and tries to hide her past from country club acquaintances. Laurel Mae becomes Lauren Maitlen, and her husband, Jimmy, becomes James.
In Indiana, they live Laurel’s dream of a higher class life. But James is never quite satisfied. He longs for his mountain home, his rich and colorful heritage, and his people, who serve and love family and friends above all else. Lauren does not understand why he values the things back home, until she is asked to risk her life to save her grandchild. Raised in a culture which promises that selfless giving for the good of others and mankind will be rewarded with eternal bliss, Lauren finally finds her purpose, her own special mission — her sacrifice. But in order to fulfill her newly discovered purpose, she must be willing to give the ultimate gift…
