This novel begins with Lena, a pregnant and unmarried young woman, who escapes from Alabama and comes to Jefferson to find her baby's biological father named Lucas Burch. When she arrives there, an old house is on fire. Later, she meets Byron Bunch and asking about Lucas Burch. Byron answer he doesn't know him and then tells her about the two his workmates, Joe Christmas and Joe Brown, who live in a plantation of the owner of the burning house. When she hears about Joe Brown she asks if he has a scar by his mouth, Byron admits that he does.
Byron picks Lena up to Mrs. Beard's boarding house to stay there for that night. After that he comes to meet Hightowers, his only confidant and tells that the house on fire and Mrs. Burden, the owner's has been killed. He continues that Mrs. Burden's nephew offers $1000 for whomever capture the killer. Brown, the man wants to claim that $1.000 and who lived in a cabin of the house with Christmas, tell the sheriff that Christmas was the killer. From him the sheriffs know that he's a part of black and has become her lover and even has ever had sex with her.
The sheriff hunts him, but because Christmas has always been avoiding him, he is unable to track Christmas. While it, Byron speaks to Hightower and reveals that he has taken Lena to live in the cabin that Lucas/Brown and Christmas lived.
Christmas finally is caught in Mottstown, which is not far from Jefferson. Mr. Hines who hears about his capture comes and yells that he should be killed. Later his wife asks him to remember what he did with her daughter's (Milly) baby, meaning to say that Christmas is their grandson.
When the Sheriff brings him to Jefferson, Mr. Hines and Mrs. Hines come afterward by train. There they meet Byron who then brings them to Hightower. In Hightower's house Mrs. Hines tells that his daughter Milly, had sex with a black man and got pregnant. Her husband then killed the man, and Milly herself died when gave birth to Christmas. Mr. Hines then deposited Christmas. Mrs. Hines herself didn't know that Christmas still alive because Mr. Hine told her that Christmas was dead.
Christmas himself was adopted by McEachern since he was 5. At seventeen, he begins sneaking out of the McEachern's house and meeting a waitress named Bobbie. Bobbie then runs after McAchers yelled at him. Christmas then following his losing Bobbie and travelling Chicago, Detroit, Mexico, and finally Jefferson where he met Miss Burden and live in her plantation.
Lena has given birth to her baby. Soon Byron talks to the sheriff to allow Lucas Burch looking Lena and their baby. Fortunatley the sheriff give the permission. But after seeing them, Burch chooses to escape through a window. Byron who follows him, watches Lucas when he's jumping onto a train and disappear. When Byron gets back to Lena's room a man tells him that Joe has been killed.
Christmas escapes when the sheriff leads him through the townsquare. Percy Grimm, who had organized men to guard the courthouse, jail, and square saw Christmas run into Hightower's house and repeatedly shoots him and castrates him with a butcher knife until Joe dies.
The novel is ended with Lena who is again on the road with her baby and Byron. Byron tells her that he wants to marry her because he's been falling in love since they meet for the first time. Lena seems not care and remains believing that she'll find her Lucas.
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