 The daily life in a tiny Kansas town is indelibly changed when enigmatic drifter Clay Hewitt [Vince Vaughn] enters the landscape. Within a few hours of Clay s arrival, he punches out the local drunk, steals his gorgeous lady love, Kitty [Ashley Judd], and is hired by the local feed ranch s owner, boozy aging widow Delilah [Kate Capshaw]. Known for her appetite for younger men, Delilah eagerly takes him in, letting him use the carriage house on her estate. She of course has more in mind for Clay than merely room and board. Her completely withdrawn and utterly dominated young son, Flyboy [Jeremy Davies], hasn t spoken a word to anyone other than his pet bull since his recent return from a mental hospital following eight years of incarceration. Clay slowly yanks the boy out of his shell, which unleashes a series of [occasionally brutal] turns of events.