The Miss Firecracker Contest
In Brookhaven, Mississippi, Carnelle Scott enters the Fourth of July Miss Firecracker pageant to escape her tarnished reputation and prove she is worthy of acceptance. Her cousins Elain and Delmount, shy seamstress Popeye, and former lover Mac Sam complicate the contest and her efforts to remake herself. Carnelle loses the pageant but finds support in her family and Popeye as they watch the fireworks.