Praise Jerusalem! spans a few vital weeks in the lives of three elderly Southern women who have been thrust into a concerted effort to find their "New Jerusalem" - a utopia of heavenly perfection. In this case, however, it is the small town of Jerusalem, Georgia, to which the women journey, each expecting to find happiness at last. But to find their utopia, they must overcome the social and racial estrangements that isolate them from each other.

Mamie Johnson, an African-American woman who is fleeing from an abusive relationship, desires an existence in which she will be free not only from abuse but also from centuries-old racial stereotypes. Maybelline, in exquisitely polite Southern terms, "has not had advantages," but despite her lack of "good blood," formal education, or fine manners, she determinedly pursues a course of service to the others.

Miss Amelia, a small-town dowager who finds herself suddenly bereft of the social and economic security she has enjoyed all her life, makes a dual journey - one in the company of Mamie and Maybelline, and another, more reluctant journey back in memory to a summer of her childhood.