In a town so small it can hardly be called a town, a black woman serves a rich white family until a series of horrific events causes the single joy in her life to vanish.

A white woman who has recently moved to a rural Southern area with her family experiences a hysterical fear of the neighboring Mexican children.

Five days after moving to the quiet town of Manacle, Arizona, a married couple learns of the curse on the town: if you do anyone a favor, they will turn against you.

On the Great Plains, an aging farmer and his wife struggle to sell their produce amid an increase in frozen food manufacturing. The farmer must figure out how to avoid the fate of his neighbors, who were pushed out of business and into welfare dependence.

In a dreary, hustling city, a spectator observes a lone preacher who stands on the sidewalk every day to enlighten his fellow men about God. After witnessing the preacher's assault at the hands of the police, the spectator becomes fascinated by the man's dedication and way of life.

When a northern writer arrives in a rural Tennessee town to better understand the culture for his novel, he is put through a harrowing night by the menfolk who, in the course of an elaborate joke, convince him he has inadvertently killed the son of his hosts.

When the decision to build a new integrated school falls into the hands of an elderly woman, a small Tennessee town grows desperate to escape the control of her family, which has historically worked to prohibit progress and change.

A poor, elderly Louisiana man confronts his responsibility to his grandchildren, his mistakes with their parents, and his own past when a cruel word on the street catches him off guard.

On the 4th of July, a small Texas diner receives new customers from all over the nation. One family arrives to the small town in search for an old war buddy, Bill, who offered the husband a job, but the townspeople insist that Bill's work is not accepting any new workers.

The daughter of a rich family must stop her parents from discriminating against their poor neighbors.