Meet one of Erskine Caldwell's most memorable characters: the philandering , murderous itinerant preacher, Semon Dye. Part allegory, part tall tale, and with a good measure of old frontier humor, Journeyman tells how Dye mysteriously arrives in Rocky Comfort, Georgia, and inside of a week nearly tears the small community apart.

As devilish as he is divine, Dye helps Rocky Comfort's citizens to rationalize their vices and weaknesses, and then uses their flaws to his own advantage. Offering no forgiveness for their actions and no justification for his own, Dye confronts the people of Rocky Comfort with their own sins as he gambles, drinks, carouses, and fights along with them.

Culminating in a tumultuous, ecstatic revival, Journeyman is filled with insights into human nature and the physical and emotional aspects of religious fervor.