Joel Mills is born into a Christian family with his stern father Hubert and loving mother Gladys who favors him over his three brothers. The close knit family survived the depression by working as share croppers, spending their time in southeast Oklahoma and West Texas until Joel and his older brother were drafted into the army to fight Hitlers Nazis in Germany. Young, tender hearted Joel is thrown into a hell storm of death and brutality that will haunt him and change his life forever.