In the Mississippi of the 1930s, certain musicians possess the ability to cut through the barriers separating the natural and the supernatural, the past and the future. Among them is the preacher's son, Sammie (Miles Caton in his debut acting job). A shattered guitar in hand, Sammie staggers into his father's church one morning, covered in wounds and blood. He can't seem to put down the instrument, though, in spite of the obvious atrocities he has seen. Sinners then jumps ahead to the day before, when his cousins Smoke and Stack come back to town after visiting Chicago. On the outskirts of town, the notorious "Smokestack Twins" intend to open a juke joint.
