Summary
The narrative unfurls from the gilded cage of 18th-century France, where King Louis XV's decree banishes Court Cartier de Jacques to the grim confines of the Bastille. A daring escape, orchestrated by loyal compatriots, propels him across continents, his lineage eventually blossoming into the resilient, often maligned, Cajun communities nestled within the undulating Alabama hills. Generations later, this tapestry of societal stratification continues to fray. We encounter Jeff Newland, a scion of wealth whose persistent dissoluteness leads to his dramatic disinheritance by the formidable Colonel Newland. The patriarch, in a fit of pique and disdain, casts his son out, branding him "lower than a Cajun." In a twist of fate, the Colonel's path soon crosses with Coddy Jakes, a bright young man from the very Cajun community he once scorned. Adopted into the Newland estate, Coddy is meticulously groomed for high society, even introduced to the refined Helen Meanix. However, this fragile ascent is shattered when Coddy becomes the unwitting victim of a calculated frame-up by his own kin, implicating him in murder and forcing him to vanish into the wilderness. It is in these untamed hills that destiny intertwines his path with the exiled Jeff Newland, initiating a profound metamorphosis in the latter, forging a man from the erstwhile wastrel. The climax ignites when Coddy, apprehended and facing the brutal justice of a lynch mob, is dramatically liberated by Helen. Their burgeoning romance, forged in adversity, finds its ultimate crucible in a raging forest fire, from which they are heroically snatched by the repentant Jeff and the now-understanding Colonel, finding unity and love amidst the ashes of prejudice and past grievances.
Synopsis
When King Louis XV of France sentences Court Cartier de Jacques to the Bastille, friends help him escape and flee the country. Many years later, his descendants, known as Cajuns, have settled in the Alabama hills. Meanwhile, after years of waywardness, Jeff Newland is disinherited by his wealthy father, Colonel Newland, who calls the young man lower than a Cajun and throws him out of the family mansion. Later, the colonel goes into the hills, finds a bright young Cajun named Coddy Jakes, and raises him as his own son. He also introduces him to Helen Meanix, a well-bred lady. However, Coddy is suspected of murder, a victim of a frame up by his real family, and disappears into the hills, where he encounters Jeff Newland and succeeds in making a man of him. When Coddy is captured and about to be lynched, Helen effects his escape, and they find love together after being rescued by Jeff and the colonel from a forest fire.
