When Jim goes down to his grandmother's farm, he expects to make a fortune farming tobacco off her land. Moving into the cabin on the land, he invites a Black man named Tom to join him in growing and harvesting the tobacco. Jim doesn't like the look of Tom nor his wife Frankie—both of whom are light-skinned and attractive, even to his racist eyes. Speaking with his grandmother, Jim convinces her to hire Frankie as a house servant because he doesn't like the idea of a Black person without work. Frankie does a good enough job, in his opinion, cooking tasty food and consistently going above and beyond her job description to show her gratitude for being hired.

Once harvest season comes around, Jim needs an extra hand to help him treat the tobacco and prepare it for selling. Given that Tom doesn't have much experience in this highly specialized field of work, Jim ventures into town, finding a white drunkard named Bud, known for his tobacco-curing skills. Bailing him out of jail, Jim thinks he is doing a good act by giving him honest work that will keep him out of trouble.

While curing the tobacco over the fire, the trio returns to the grandmother's house to drink coffee. Bud harasses Frankie, tripping her and messing with her in a manner that catches Tom's eye, though he must restrain himself lest he suffer the wrath of White rage. But when Bud gets more handsy with Frankie and asks her to join him in private on the porch, Tom stands and begins making his way to Bud. Jim orders Tom to go away and instead joins Bud himself. Out there, he reasons with Bud, telling him to go away and return to his house, but the drunkard fights back. Soon, the two are brawling, and though Tom offers to help, Jim tells him he'll beat Tom himself if he does. Once Bud is sent away, Jim and Tom return to check on the tobacco, finding it ruined, cutting their profits from this harvest in half.