 In the early 1960 s, a quintet of hopeful young African American men form an amateur vocal group called The Five Heartbeats. After an initially rocky start, the group improve, turn pro, and rise to become a top flight music sensation. Along the way however, the guys learn many hard lessons about the reality of the music industry with it s casual racism and greed while the personal weaknesses of the members threaten to destroy the integrity of the band.