"Hank Lattimer, a young assistant pastor in a large Presbyterian church in Georgia, becomes close friends with Moses Awulu, a graduate student from Ilaria who is studying in Atlanta. During the Christmas holidays, Hank's church invites a group of international students to visit them, including Moses. Blind to his own and his church's prejudices, Hank approves the eating arrangements planned for the internationals; that is, all the students will eat at the church except for the Africans, who will eat in private homes. Hank suddenly realizes the discrimination of the arrangement only when Moses is not allowed to eat with the others. Moses reacts by cutting off his relationship with Hank and the church. After Christmas, Hank points out the discrimination of the act to the church's leaders. They react indignantly. Conflict develops between Hank and the leaders as he becomes bolder in his new openness toward Black people. The church requests Hank to resign, and seeing the futility of remaining on its staff, he complies. A year later, Hank is appointed by his mission board as chaplain for a university campus in Ilaria. Hank discovers Moses Awulu teaching on the same campus. Not only has the Ilarian renounced his faith, but he publicly implicates Hank for his own humiliation in America. Further, unknown to Hank, Moses tells the Registrar, the actual powerhouse of the university, about the Georgia incident. Prejudiced against White people, the Registrar unscrupulously suspends Hank's official status as chaplain. The students also begin to withdraw from Hank and chapel activities. He despairs whether he should remain in Ilaria. Meanwhile, Moses falls victim again to discrimination. The university dismisses him and others because they come from a particular tribe. Hank questions the dismissals from the pulpit. Acting from his personal antagonisms, the Registrar retaliates by forcing Hank to leave. But Hank's involvement bridges the estrangement between Moses and himself, and they become reconciled. Hank resolves to return to the big White church scene in southern USA to work toward racial justice"--