 When a new teacher named Mr. Sanders begins to teach at Blanton Academy, a private school in the south, it stirs thoughts in the mind of one boy, Taylor Bradshaw, while stirring prejudice in most of the other students. After meeting Landy Allen, a Negro boy his age, Taylor begins to explore the music and lives of the "colored" people who live in Rivertown despite knowing that it could get him expelled or rejected. Landy and Taylor teach each other his own style of music as they try to get others to see past the racial barriers. A tragedy leads to a great awakening in the minds of those who still remained prejudiced at the school.