The Harlem Story, originally written as an integrated, R&B and Hip Hop musical screenplay, follows the journey of gifted singers raised in the church, aspiring to sing professionally. The novel incorporates ideas and song lyrics from the script. In 1963, James Harris and Diane Smith, at age six, witness the murder of the their parents by the Klan outside their Southern church. Aunt Millie, at age 52, James' mother's religious aunt, flees with the children back into the chapel. The House of God is set on fire. They are trapped inside, but a deacon later arrives to help them escape. The next day, the Klan are arrested; and a week later, funeral services are held for the victims. Aunt Millie leaves the South with the children, who have no other family, and relocates to Harlem. She raises James and Diane as her own and she continues their Christian values and love for singing in their new church. In 1983, James and Diane are amazing singers in their church choir. They enter Amateur Night at the Apollo after rehearsing duets by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. They win top prize singing "Lift Every Voice." Bill Collins, a music manager, is impressed by their performance. He offers them an audition to sing at his studio; however, James is wrongfully arrested and incarcerated the next day for the murder of a local store owner. He encourages Diane to pursue her dreams without him; and she goes on to become a successful R&B artist. In 1990, James is exonerated and released from prison owing to DNA evidence unavailable in "83. He reunites with Diane, but he loss his faith in the Lord and love for singing after languishing in prison for seven years. He tries to make it on his own. He encounters discrimination. He cannot find work, so he enlists in the U.S. Army Reserves. In 1991, war breaks out in the Middle East. He is deployed and wounded in the Gulf War. He returns to Harlem unemployed again, and disabled with a leg injury. He suffers from PTSD and is hospitalized at the VA. He is discharged when his treatment fails to help him. He becomes homeless, lives in a men's shelter, and panhandles on the streets of New York City to survive. In 1992, his mental and physical condition worsens. He limps outside the Grammys at Radio City Music Hall and attempts to sing "Lift Every Voice" again to the taunts and mockery of fans lining up to see their favorite music artists. He returns to Harlem, sick, dying from pneumonia, and passes out in his childhood church which is now condemned. Diane's love for James remains constant over the years throughout his misery. She meets new music handlers who plot to take over her career. They hire hit men to kill Bill. When she later discovers their involvement, she gives up music and searches for James. The music handlers, fearing she might report them to the police, order the hit men to kill her. They search for Diane and find her entering the condemned church. The set the House of God on fire, entrapping her and James, who is still unconscious, inside. But they escape when fire fighters burst through the door to rescue them. The hit men are gunned down by homicide detectives investigating Bill's murder, and the music handlers are later arrested and charged with conspiracy. James and Diane are hospitalized for their injuries. In 1993, James recovers from PTSD with on-going treatment and rehabilitation for his leg injury. He is awarded a million dollar settlement from the City for his wrongful arrest and imprisonment. They attend an Amateur Night reunion at the Apollo ten years to the date when they had first appeared. They sing "Lift Every Voice" again to another standing ovation.