In the best Southern literary tradition, A Yellow Watermelon explores poverty and racial segregation through the eyes of an innocent boy. In rural south Alabama in 1948, whites picked on one side of the cotton field and blacks on the other. Where the fields meet, twelve-year-old Ted meets Poudlum, a black boy his own age, who teaches him how to endure the hard work while they bond and go on to integrate the field. Through Poudlum and Jake, an escaped black convict, Ted learns of evil forces gathering to deprive Poudlum's family of their property and livelihood. The white boy and the black boy encounter danger and suspense while executing a plan to save Poudlum's family, set Jake onto a river to freedom, and discover a great, yet simple secret of enlightenment.