Hurston arrives in her hometown of Eatonville and tells the locals she plans to collect their folktales.

Eatonville locals share their first 'lies' with Hurston and invite her to a toe-party that evening.

Hurston attends the Eatonville toe-party, where locals dance, eat, and drink homemade liquor late into the night.

Locals encourage Hurston to visit Polk County for more stories; she leaves Eatonville and heads for Loughman.

Hurston arrives in Loughman, where locals initially suspect her of being a law enforcement officer.

Hurston falsely claims to be a fugitive bootlegger in order to gain the Loughman community's trust.

At a Loughman pay night dance, a man named Mr. Pitts helps Hurston gain acceptance among the workers.

The Loughman swamp-gang spends a day off fishing at the lake while exchanging folktales along the way.

Big Sweet threatens Ella Wall with a switchblade at the jook after Ella calls herself Joe Willard's 'weakness.'

Lucy attacks Hurston at a pay night dance, prompting Hurston to decide to leave Loughman.

Hurston travels to Pierce, Florida, where she collects origin stories and other folktales from local residents.

Hurston returns to Loughman for Cliffert's wedding; a knife fight erupts and she flees town immediately.

Hurston arrives in New Orleans to research hoodoo and begins seeking out practitioners to study under.

Hurston undergoes initiation into Luke Turner's hoodoo practice, concluding with a midnight sheep sacrifice in the woods.

Hurston participates in Kitty Brown's 'death-to-the-enemy' dance performed for a woman seeking revenge against her ex-lover.

Zora Neale Hurston returns to her hometown of Eatonville, Florida, where locals welcome her and begin sharing their community's folktales, known as 'lies.' She travels to the company town of Loughman, where she must work carefully to earn the locals' trust before they open up to her research. Despite forming meaningful connections in Loughman, escalating violence ultimately forces Hurston to flee after a knife fight erupts at a wedding celebration. She briefly collects additional stories in Pierce before making her way to New Orleans to investigate the hoodoo practices of the region's spiritual doctors. Hurston immerses herself fully in hoodoo, undergoing demanding initiation rituals with multiple practitioners across the city. Her journey culminates in participating in a sacred 'death-to-the-enemy' dance under the guidance of her final teacher, Kitty Brown.

Hurston's journey from Florida folklore to New Orleans hoodoo.

A group gathers at the Eatonville store porch the day after the toe-party to share more stories.

Shug tells a subversive courtship story about three men pursuing one woman, inverting the usual tale setup.

Little Julius Henry tells a long story about John outsmarting Ole Massa by pretending to tell fortunes.

The Loughman swamp-gang exchanges stories about John and Ole Massa while waiting to learn if sawmill work is available.

Workers share a story about John saving Ole Massa's drowning children before running all the way to Canada.

Big Sweet tells the first story on the hike to the lake, about a mockingbird that goes to hell to save a human friend.

The hiking group exchanges Brer Rabbit and Brer Dog stories that explain why the animals behave as they do.

Three traveling preachers emerge from the railroad tracks and perform a musical sermon about Genesis for the Loughman locals.

Loughman residents celebrate at the jook with music, dancing, and gambling after the traveling preachers depart.

Cliffert Ulman tells Hurston a final Loughman story about Jack outsmarting the Devil by threatening to throw his hammer into heaven.

Luke Turner tells Hurston the story of Marie Laveau's rise to power and her mysterious death in a great storm.

Hurston is initiated into Anatol Pierre's hoodoo practice through an oil bath, sacred candles, and a blood bond.

Pierre performs a ritual using a cow heart packed with a name and soaked in vinegar; the married target reportedly dies.

Father Watson initiates Hurston as 'Boss of Candles' through a five-day fast and a serpent-shaped candle ceremony.

Watson leads Hurston in the 'Black Cat Bone' ceremony, during which Hurston must taste bones at midnight to find the bitter one.

Beyond the headline events of her research trip, Hurston records a rich tapestry of folktales and rituals from the communities she visits. In Eatonville and Loughman, locals share an eclectic mix of stories featuring recurring characters like John, Ole Massa, and Brer Rabbit, revealing the depth and diversity of Black oral tradition. The traveling workers share tales during fishing trips, hikes, and pay night dances, illustrating how storytelling flows naturally from everyday life. When Hurston reaches New Orleans, she encounters hoodoo practitioners whose backgrounds and methods vary widely, from Luke Turner's Laveau-inspired rituals to Father Watson's Christian-inflected ceremonies. Each practitioner initiates Hurston into their specific practice through elaborate physical and spiritual rites, drawing her deeper into the world of hoodoo. The hoodoo chapters reveal a complex belief system blending African traditions, Caribbean spirituality, and Christian symbolism in ways that defy simple categorization.

The stories, songs, and rituals Hurston recorded along her journey.

Approaching Eatonville, Hurston recalls the community folklore story about God allocating souls to humans after their creation.

Ellis Jones shares a story about a preacher who falsely believed a mule braying was God's call to preach.

John French tells a story about Jack outsmarting the Devil after losing all his money on a bet.

Hurston holds a small storytelling contest to initiate the process of eliciting folktales from the Loughman community.

The Loughman swamp-gang is dismissed from their workday when the transport train is needed elsewhere, freeing their day.

Workers share a story about two men who mistake an argument over spilled corn for God and the Devil dividing souls.

At the fishing lake, Jim Allen challenges the truth of Big Sweet's story about a goat that spoke.

The Quarters Boss intervenes in the jook confrontation and forces Ella Wall and Lucy to leave the premises.

Hurston traces hoodoo's biblical origins through Moses, his father-in-law Jethro, and the wisdom of the Queen of Sheba.

Luke Turner tells Hurston he wants her to stay with him for the rest of his life, but she declines.

Father Watson tasks Hurston with independently conducting three hoodoo ceremonies for paying clients after her initiation.

Dr. Duke uses dirt from the graves of nine children and daily scripture to help a man named James Beasly in his assault trial.

Dr. Jenkins correctly predicts through card-reading that a visiting sociologist will be suddenly summoned on a long trip to West Africa.

A man named Dave uses hoodoo to drive a racist white farmer's entire family to madness in revenge for his daughter's murder.

Rachel Roe immediately forgives her ex-lover after the death dance concludes, and Kitty Brown removes the curse on his life.

Hurston's research journey is shaped by a series of critical moments that reveal both the folklore she collects and her own place within it. From the earliest moment of recalling a childhood story as she approaches Eatonville, Hurston shows how deeply Black folklore is embedded in everyday life and personal identity. In Loughman, her strategy of holding a storytelling contest and the unexpected gift of a dismissed workday prove essential to gathering material from a guarded community. Confrontations at the jook mark a turning point that drives Hurston out of Loughman, while her arrival in New Orleans opens a new chapter of personal immersion into spiritual practice. Each hoodoo doctor presents Hurston with revelations about the practice's diversity and depth, from Turner's personal plea for her to stay to Jenkins's eerily accurate card predictions. The final act of the death dance and Rachel Roe's sudden change of heart bring the work to a close on a note about the unpredictable, human dimensions of belief.

The key decisions, discoveries, and confrontations that shape Hurston's research.