Dogtown is populated by the castaways of society--prostitutes, widows, orphans and African Americans. Its people are reviled by the surrounding communities. Symbolizing Dogtown's fate are residents Cornelius Finson, a freed slave, and Judy Rhines, an unmarried white woman. Lovers for years, Cornelius and Judy are forced apart by intolerance, and their suffering mirrors the desperation of their entire community.