A young, unwed mother named Sara comes to Memphis, Tennessee hoping for a fresh start from her haunting past in Chicago. She and her new baby are welcomed with open arms by Mama Sugar, a kindly matriarch and owner of The Scarlet Poplar, the popular boarding house. Sara begins working with Mama Sugar, feeding the boarders and finds solace in the older woman’s kindness.   Like many cities in the Jim Crow South, Memphis is racially segregated, but the feeling of change is in the air. Freedom Riders are challenging to status quo and across the country Martin Luther King Jr. is leading the fight for equal rights. Sara finds herself having conversations about politics and a brighter future with Jonas, the local schoolteacher. As romance blooms for Jonas and Sara, she starts believing for the first time ever, that she might be worthy of love, despite what happened in Chicago. But their happiness doesn’t last long – secrets from Mama Sugar’s past catch up