Nappus, an elderly farmer, resents the fact that his daughter Chloe is married to a lazy layabout named Gummy, who allows Chloe to do all the house and farm work he himself should be doing. Chloe has to care for her two children, Trailia and Chiquapin, while managing all of Gummy's duties as well, and she is worn down by her labors. When Chloe and the child Trailia become dangerously ill, Gummy obtains the services of a voodoo doctor instead of a real medical doctor, with tragic results. Nappus decides he will somehow raise the money to send his grandson Chiquapin to medical school.