Cratis Williams was an eloquent defender of Appalachian culture and one of the most important scholars of the postwar era. In this 1980s documentary, he visits his ancestral homeland on Caines Creek in Eastern Kentucky's Big Sandy Valley and reminisces about confronting the stereotypes of Appalachian culture and personalities. Interviews with Pat Beaver, Grace Edwards, Loyal Jones, Jim Wayne Miller, David Williams, and Gurney Norman attest to the importance of Williams' work to a generation of artists, writers, and scholars.