In December 1940, a train carries Nathanael West and F. Scott Fitzgerald's bodies east. May and Raleigh, both from neighboring towns, meet on the train. Raleigh changes trains for Kentucky, promising to take May to the Nibroc Festival. In Scene Two, a year and a half later, May and Raleigh are at the festival. Raleigh, unable to serve in the war, works in a Detroit factory to support his parents. May is a school teacher, dating a traveling preacher. May admits her prejudices against Raleigh's family when confronted. On May's porch the following spring, they resolve differences and realize their feelings. May agrees to elope as the sky turns red like a sunrise.