The Roberts family farm in Iowa is a thriving, multi-generational operation, steered by Frank Roberts, Sr. [Brian Dennehy] and his two sons, Frank Roberts [Richard Gere] and Terry Roberts [Kevin Anderson], who help keep the land and the livelihood alive. In 1959, during Nikita Khrushchev’s tour of the Midwest, this quiet farm becomes a backdrop to wider headlines and growing pressures, a moment that tests the family’s resolve and the future of their land. For three generations the farmland has been a source of pride, but rising costs and stagnant crop prices strain the family’s finances, making the present feel unsustainably precarious.
A brutal stretch of rain finally ruins the crops, pushing them toward desperate measures. To cover mounting bills, they sell nearly everything they own at a yard sale, clinging to scraps of hope as the bank’s footsteps grow closer. The anger in Frank Jr. boils over when foreclosure becomes a reality, and he pushes his younger brother Terry toward a radical option: burn the farm rather than let the bank seize what their ancestors built.
From that decision, the brothers hit the road and drift into a life of theft, discovering that their homeward story resonates with neighbors and strangers who offer shelter or even a hideout when the law begins to close in. Along the way, they encounter a broad cast of people who shape their journey. Terry, [Kevin Anderson], falls for Sally, [Penelope Ann Miller], a woman who seems to sense there is more to them than trouble. A stripper—an Exotic Dancer, [Laurie Metcalf]—enters their orbit and leads them to Maxwell, [John Malkovich], a reporter who wants to tell their story before the law catches up with them.
As Frank, charged with bravado, drifts into high-visibility mistakes, the adventure reaches a fairground where he drinks in the attention and, in a moment of recklessness, intervenes in an ox pull and ends up ending the animal’s suffering. The incident triggers a chase, and the pair barely escapes as the police close in. The next day Frank abandons the plan to rob the bank and instead leaves Terry behind as he pursues the theft on his own, an act that intensifies the pursuit.
The road finally brings them to a moment of choice: a return to work with a fellow corn harvester provides a brief sense of normalcy, but the law remains on their trail. In the end, Terry remains with Sally, helped by Sally’s lawyer father, while Frank drives off into the distance, choosing a solitary path over capture or reunion. What began as a desperate act of survival evolves into a complex portrait of loyalty, family, and the price of chasing an elusive sense of freedom.
