Executives and musicians at Stax Records, an influential record label on the Black music scene in the late 1950s in Memphis, look for ways to transcend racial divides and bring their music into the American mainstream.

Stax breaks through to the white market with the hit "Soul Man"; the death of Stax star Otis Redding, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., legal obstacles and ongoing racial tensions in Memphis reveal cracks in the company's façade.

Stax promotions director Al Bell steps up to save the company after the death of Otis Redding and the Atlantic Records merger; Stax puts its efforts behind Isaac Hayes, who receives awards for his work.

In the 1970s, a booming Stax expands to Los Angeles and gives back to the black community with the benefit concert "Wattstax" but when their bank goes under and the company faces other legal setbacks, Stax prepares to shutter its doors.