It is the early 1920s. The Volstead Act has recently prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol, which means that an active black market has sprung up—a market controlled by legendary gangsters such as Al Capone. Supplies must be secretly shipped from France to its outpost in Saint-Pierre, Newfoundland. This dangerous and illegal trade involves aviators flying primitive sea planes—aviators such as Bessie the "Black Angel," whose mixed heritage also makes her the target of the flourishing Ku Klux Klan. Based on the historical figure of Bessie Coleman, she flies in the face of injustice, prejudice, and discrimination.

Now well and truly embroiled in the black market trade in alcohol and working for the notorious gangster Al Capone, aka "Scarface," Bessie reminisces about her childhood in Texas, where she was hunted by the KKK and saved only by the quick thinking of her friends. Now she's the target of a rival gang and once again her life is threatened. As Bessie loses control of her life, her dream of achieving fame like her idol Eugène Bullard seems to be evaporating like morning mist over the runway. Can she fulfill his prediction to become the "Black Angel"?