<P>One Sunday when she is ten years old, Velva Jean Hart is saved. But being saved is not anything like she expected; her loving mother dies and her father leaves her for one of his "adventures."</P><P>But before she dies, Velva Jean's mother urges her to "live out there in the great wide world," and Velva Jean intends to do just that. She dreams of becoming a big-time singer in Nashville until she falls in love with Harley Bright, a handsome juvenile delinquent turned revival preacher. As their tumultuous love story unfolds, Velva Jean must choose between keeping her hard-won home and pursuing her dream of singing in the Grand Ole Opry.</P>