Before her death, Emma reflects on her life; beginning with her childhood, up through her final years in Nauvoo.

As narrated by his mother, Joseph Smith's life flashes as it pertains to the restoration and growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Set in upstate New York, pivotal events include the first vision where Joseph saw God, the father and his son Jesus Christ; the visit of the angel Moroni and the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon.

Anthropology student Daria, who's helping a property developer build a village in the Los Angeles desert, and dropout Mark, who's wanted by the authorities for allegedly killing a policeman during a student riot, accidentally encounter each other in Death Valley and soon begin an unrestrained romance.