Paul Edgecomb, a 108 year old man, tells the story of the 1930s as a death row officer at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Among his prisoners is a character with supernatural powers called Jonh Coffey, a huge black man, simple in spirit but touched by the hand of God, who will be able to miraculously heal various ailments, even death. Jonh Coffey is sentenced for raping and murdering two girls, being innocent of this crime.
