In 1916, Chicago steelworker Bill [Richard Gere] accidentally kills his factory foreman during an argument. He flees to the Texas Panhandle with his girlfriend Abby [Brooke Adams] and his young sister Linda [Linda Manz]. As their train winds across the country, an older Linda mulls over these events in voiceover narration. She recalls that a religious man warned her of a vision of apocalyptic hellfire, and notes that at the Last Judgment, God will rescue the good and turn away the evil.
In Texas, a wealthy farmer [Sam Shepard] suffering from an unspecified malady hires as many seasonal shockers as he can find, including Bill and Abby, who pretend to be siblings to deter gossip. Bill overhears a doctor telling the farmer that he has one year left to live. The farmer's accountant encourages him to sell his farm and enjoy his profits, but the farmer decides on staying.
The terminally ill farmer takes a liking to Abby, and asks her to stay with him after the harvest. Bill encourages Abby to marry the farmer so that they can inherit his money when he dies. Abby questions whether Bill still loves her. Bill confidently predicts that the farmer will die soon and they will be reunited. Abby marries the farmer and persuades him to let Bill and Linda stay at the farmhouse. The farmer's foreman suspects that Abby and Bill are con artists, but the farmer dismisses the suggestion and distances himself from the foreman.
The farmer's health remains stable, foiling Bill's plans. Over time, the shy farmer wins over Abby with his genuine disposition. However, he grows suspicious of Abby's excessively familiar relationship with her "brother." Bill belatedly realizes that Abby has fallen in love with the farmer. He realizes that the only way to salvage the situation is to depart the farm, leaving his little sister with his ex-girlfriend. The farmer tries to be a good father figure to Linda.
Bill returns to the farm during the following year's harvest. He admits to Abby that encouraging her to marry another man was a mistake. Before Abby can make a decision, a locust swarm arrives. To save the harvest, the farmer lights controlled fires to smoke out the locusts. However, when he sees Bill, he loses control of himself and chases after Bill with a gun. He accidentally knocks over one of his own lamps, triggering a blaze that destroys much of the harvest. Bill kills the farmer with a screwdriver the next day during a confrontation where the farmer points a revolver at him.
Once again, Bill, Abby, and Linda are on the run. With the foreman's help, the police shoot Bill while he tries to escape. Seeking a new life, Abby leaves Linda at a boarding school and departs on a train with soldiers headed for World War I. Later, Linda runs away from the school with a friend from the farm.
