The Exile 1931

In Chicago, Edith Duval has risen to power within the African-American community after coming into possession of a South Chicago mansion where she once served as a servant; the white family that owned the mansion abandoned it when blacks started moving into the neighborhood. She is in love with Jean Baptiste, but his idealism clashes with her cynicism as they navigate power, risk, and dreams. Edith envisions turning the mansion into a speakeasy and nightclub, a bold beacon of culture and resilience at the edge of Prohibition-era upheaval.

Meanwhile, Baptiste buys land in South Dakota and becomes a successful rancher. Five years into his time there, he falls in love with young Agnes Stewart. She is white, and while she accepts him, he fears they won’t be able to build a life together. After he leaves the area, Agnes’s father reveals to her that her late mother was Ethiopian, meaning Agnes is part Black.

Fleeing back to Chicago to escape the doomed relationship, the former teetotaler Baptiste returns to Edith’s club, its liquor and its charms. The two plan to marry, but her former lover, an Ethiopian named Jango, appears, slips into Edith’s room, and laments how she has ruined him. After he threatens suicide, she hands him a gun; instead of killing himself, he shoots and kills Edith. Baptiste is initially suspected of the murder but is cleared when a witness comes forward and confirms overhearing Jango and Edith arguing.

Back in South Dakota, Agnes reads in the newspaper about Baptiste being accused of murder and travels to Chicago to help him. She arrives at City Hall just as he is cleared by the district attorney. After their reunion, they return to South Dakota.