Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier), an itinerant handyman, is driving through the desert when he meets five nuns. Stopping to fix their leaky farmhouse roof, Homer discovers the Mother Superior also wants him to build their chapel - for free! Hesitant at first, Homer soon finds himself single-handedly raising the chapel and the financing. But although he will not receive a monetary reward, Homer knows that when his work is done, he'll leave the desert town a much better place than when he found it.