Raised without God or the Bible or church, Lawrence quits school at 15 to work and become rich. He marries Wilma at 24. Violent and bitter, he loses his job, borrows money from his dad to start his own auto shop. He has amassed nearly $50,000 when an oil-sparked explosion sets him on fire at work, and he nearly dies. In a coma he has a vision of hell and cries out to God to save him. All his money is spent on doctor and hospital bills, but he has peace and goes into ministry distributing Bibles.