His father a hardcore Southern Baptist, J.C. rebels during his teen years, joining a biker gang and becoming their leader. While day-tripping, he has a prophetic religious vision and leads an LSD-fueled pilgrimage back to his home town, where he challenges the local church leaders, even knocking down chairs and tables in righteous anger, just like ... you know. Is Jesus Christ born again on Earth?

A small-town newspaperman begins to suspect that a wave of murders committed in the area may not be the work of a serial killer but a monster. Edited into The Legend of McCullough’s Mountain.

Overlooked when the Tennessee legislature reapportioned the state, the 40-acre community of Shagbottom is discovered and notified to elect a state representative. The feud between Pa Culpepper and Uncle Foxey Calhoun resurfaces, with several incidents occurring at Postmaster Amos Quint's general store between Simon Crumb and Uncle Foxey, while at the Culpepper farm Ma Culpepper is trying to persuade Pa not to run for office. Lovers Nancy Calhoun and Del Culpepper are separated by the hostilities until the Smokey Mountain Jamboree arrives to televise the election and their country music revue.