Fiery preacher Charcoal Johnson, though no model of sanctity, gains control of a Mississippi Baptist church through personal magnetism; he uses this springboard to organize a 'Back to Africa' movement among his fellow afro-Americans, along the lines of evangelical religion. Weathering accusations of swindling, he emerges as the self-styled (future) Emperor of the United States of Africa. But his tin-plated pomp is threatened by greed, personalities, and practicalities...