Precocious young Harriet (Evan Rachel Wood) lives with her much older sister, Gwen (Mary Stuart Masterson), at a New Hampshire motel owned by their mother (Cathy Moriarty), and also dreams of a life outside her neglectful family and stultifying town. After Ricky (Kevin Bacon), a mentally disabled person, stays at the motel, Harriet finds him to be kinder and more interesting than anyone that she has ever understood previously. After disaster strikes, Ricky and Harriet cling to each other.