Promise is the story of Jo and Dovey, two women from opposite sides of Tupelo, MS -- one black, one white. Despite feeling worlds apart, both are devastated by the historic tornado of 1936, and as they fight for their families' survival in the aftermath, both will discover the universal and transformative power of love.


A few minutes after 9 p.m. on Palm Sunday, April 5, 1936, a massive funnel cloud flashing a giant fireball and roaring like a run-away train careened into the thriving cotton-mill town of Tupelo, in northeastern Mississippi. The official death toll ranged from 216 to 233, but deaths in the black community, one-third of the town's population, were simply not counted. Promise attempts to shed light on the untold stories of that day through the fictionalized tale of two women - one black, one white - who fight for their families' survival in the tornado's aftermath while grappling with their tragic shared past.





Dovey, a local washwoman, harbors nothing but hatred for her employer, powerful judge Mort McNabb and his family. Mort allows his violent and reckless son to do as he pleases, leaving Dovey's granddaughter bruised and broken with an illegitimate child. Mort's daughter Jo is no stranger to Son McNabb's nature, but she is nothing like her brutish brother.





While Dovey and Jo come from different worlds, both are thrust into chaos by the powerful, destructive force of the tornado. Houses are ripped from their foundations, while people -- black and white, alive and dead -- are scattered throughout the town. When Jo discovers a baby in the wreckage, she believes it to be her baby brother, Tommy, and vows to protect him in the horrific aftermath of the storm. But Jo is not prepared for Dovey, who claims the baby is her own great-grandchild. During the hours that follow, Jo and Dovey will battle against one another and the demons that haunt them for the promise of salvation.