It is the mid-1800s. At Sweet Home in Kentucky; an era is ending as slavery comes under attack from the abolitionists. The worlds of Halle and Paul D. are to be destroyed in a cataclysm of torment and agony. The world of Sethe; however; is to turn from one of love to one of violence and death - the death of Sethe's baby daughter Beloved; whose name is the single word on the tombstone; who died at her mother's hands; and who will return to claim retribution.