Nita [Sissy Spacek] is a divorced mother of two and a World War II switchboard operator in Gregory, Texas, who split from her unfaithful husband four years prior. She is the town’s sole operator, on-call day and night, a lifeline in a tight-knit community. She pleads with her boss, Mr. Rigby [R.G. Armstrong], for a secretarial job with regular hours, hoping for a steadier rhythm to her days, but wartime demands force a kind of temporary “frozen” status, leaving everyone to make sacrifices.
Her status as a single mother makes her a target for town gossip and unwanted attention from men. Two brothers, Calvin [William Sanderson] and Arnold [Tracey Walter], frequently peer in on and harass Nita at her home, casting a shadow over her evenings. The town also harbors a nameless, facially disfigured drifter—“the raggedy man”—who drags a lawnmower around and is often seen lurking nearby when the brothers press their intimidation on Nita’s sons, Harry and Henry. The raggedy man is later revealed to be Bailey [Sam Shepard], a figure tied to the town’s quiet unease.
One night, Teddy Roebuck [Eric Roberts], a US Navy sailor on leave, arrives at Nita’s doorstep seeking a pay phone to contact his fiancée. He learns his fiancée is involved with another man, and in a sudden kindness, Nita offers him coffee to lift his spirits. The two form a connection, and with nowhere else to go, Teddy chooses to spend the rest of his leave with Nita and her boys. He grows close to the children and, together with Nita, they take a bus trip to a beachside carnival, where laughter briefly eases the town’s tensions. Nita and Teddy’s bond deepens into something warmer, and they share a moment of intimacy that only deepens the gossip.
After Calvin and Arnold attempt to glimpse Nita bathing, she phones Sheriff Watson [Bill Thurman] to report a peeping Tom. The sheriff seems to find no one and reminds Nita that the town’s talk is focused on the stranger staying with her. When she mentions having seen the disfigured raggedy man near her house, the sheriff explains that the harmless drifter is Bailey, who has been mowing lawns over the past couple of years. The insinuations and whispers continue to swirl around Nita as she and Teddy navigate their growing feelings, and the community’s scrutiny intensifies.
Following a night of passion between Nita and Teddy, the couple’s romance becomes a magnet for more rumor. Teddy’s departure to ease the pressure seems prudent, and the two boys bid him farewell with a hint of sadness, while Harry resentfully blames his mother for Teddy’s leaving. Nita tries to balance hope and responsibility, reminding Harry that his father never returned to claim him.
Rigby denies the transfer again, and in a desperate move, Nita buys one-way bus tickets to San Antonio. That same night, disaster strikes: Calvin and Arnold trap Harry in an outhouse and attempt to assault Nita. The raggedy man cuts the lights, starts Calvin’s truck, and uses its headlights to illuminate the porch. When Arnold steps outside with a knife to investigate, a struggle ensues, and the raggedy man dispatches both attackers. Nita discovers Bailey dead on the porch, and, upon closer inspection of his disfigured face, realizes the raggedy man is, in fact, Harry senior [Henry Thomas], her estranged husband who has returned in a brutal form to protect them.
The next day, Nita and her sons board a bus to San Antonio. Harry’s presence seems to have offered a grim sense of protection, and the family holds onto a future they hope to share with Teddy, hoping they will meet him again.
