Texas writer Horton Foote's touching story set in 1902 features Robert Duvall as Sol, the hardened boss of a sugar plantation who unwittingly becomes a mentor to a young boy named Horace (Lukas Haas), who comes to Sol looking for a way to earn a living. Horace eventually learns, through his associations with Sol, Ben (James Earl Jones) and others, that life, though it isn't always fair or just, is worth rising for every day.