Super Short Summary

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines is set on a Louisiana plantation and follows Candy Marshall, part owner of the plantation, as she attempts to protect Mathu, a black worker and father figure to her, whom she suspects of killing the racist work boss Beau Boutan. To confuse the sheriff and prevent a lynching by Beau's father, Fix, Candy gathers old men with shotguns at Mathu's house, resulting in a complex confrontation. The book contains depictions of racial violence and lynching.