Traveling through the Southwest taking odd jobs, handyman Homer Smith (Poitier) happens to stop at a farm run by German-speaking nuns. The Mother Superior (Skala) enlists his help to do some manual chores, and before long has convinced him to stay and help them build a longed-for chapel, a gift of faith and friendship that transforms them all.

Ralph Nelson's crowd-pleasing "Lillies" was a gentle, charming change-of-pace for Poitier, whose itinerant jack-of-all-trades Homer learns something about human charity and the power of God's will, as exercised through His most faithful followers. Sidney's heartfelt performance went over very well with the Academy, too: he became the first black actor ever to win the Best Actor Oscar for his stirring portrayal of Homer.