Daisy Werthan, an elderly Jewish widow living in Atlanta, is determined to maintain her independence. However, when she crashes her car, her son, Boolie, arranges for her to have a chauffeur, an African-American driver named Hoke. 

Set against a backdrop of changing world events between 1948 and 1973, a fiesty Southern widow and her proud but soft-spoken black chauffeur journey from suspicion and mistrust to respect and deep-rooted affection.