Holly Whitman and Carl Lindford are Chicago-based junior insurance lawyers working at the same firm and a couple in their personal life, although Carl seems more interested in his symbols of prestige, such as his BMW sports car and getting ahead in his career, than he is in Holly. Days before they are to enter court on what could be the case which brings them into the next echelon of the profession, Holly receives news from her irresponsible brother, Everett Whitman, that their father, Wade Whitman, has suffered a heart attack, Wade and Everett still living in their small hometown of Manion Lake, Alabama. Holly, borrowing Carl's car, heads down to Manion Lake expecting to make it back to Chicago in time for the opening arguments of the important case.