A new-England farmer reluctantly starts preaching about Daniel and Revelation when he is asked to share his unique understanding of prophecy.
William is helped by pastor and publicist Joshua Himes to shake the United States by proclaiming the Second Coming of Jesus Christ was imminent.
Jesus doesn’t come on the predicted date of Oct 22, 1844. Awakening the next day they discover their world is in chaos. A small group gathers to find a new understanding of what happened.
Experiencing bitter poverty and trying to rebuild their lives, the small group starts growing into a larger movement once again. However, confusion is wide spread as teenager Ellen White starts receiving visions.
James romances Ellen into marriage and they inspire the publishing of a paper that reaches new believers across America. The group is forced to organize and choose a name for their movement. But profound grieve is about to hit them.
Ellen struggles with another loss and James’ poor health. This inspires new visions about health and education which propels them in a new direction. Faced with profound limitations the leaders of this new movement have to decide how large their vision is.