Mary Ann Taylor loves the comforts of her hometown in Mercury, Texas. She has a steady job as a waitress in her father’s diner, yet she can’t help but feel unfulfilled by a life of pouring coffee and grilling hamburgers. Mary Ann’s real passion is photography, but pursuing her dream of becoming a photographer means leaving Mercury behind. Despite her desperation to expand her horizons, Mary Ann hesitates to leave because of her mother’s declining health and because of her new romance with Jack Parker. Jack is a mechanic who just returned to town after realizing the cruelties of the outside world. He experienced big-city living first-hand and wants nothing more than to settle down back home. But Jack and Mary Ann soon find that cruelties exist in their own little town when Jack discovers that his sister Nancy is being brutally beaten and routinely abused by her husband Les. While Jack struggles with how to help Nancy, Mary Ann is faced with a crucial choice about her future: stay in town with Jack or pursue her dream in California without him.