In 1928, young Joshua and his bride, Lena, look forward to living and working on his father's farm in the western North Carolina mountains. However, when Mr. Poole, the powerful leader of Charlotte's prohibition whiskey gang, offers him a job driving fast cars, Joshua can't resist. Despite her strong objection, Joshua sends Lena back to his farm to be cared for by his family. What she finds there could hardly be more devastating and demanding of her courage. They expect to be reunited as soon as Joshua can quickly earn some good money. Instead, they each must take a long and dangerous journey before they can be reunited. In the process they both are so changed, they hardly recognize one another.
