Russell Gates (David Strahairn) is a Vietnam War veteran who is serving a life sentence for the murder of a police officer. Pam O'Brien (Sissy Spacek), his childhood girlfriend, is startled to learn this and cannot believe he could do such a crime. She writes to him, much to her husband Keith's dismay, and becomes fascinated with the situation, exhausting all possible avenues for the doomed guy. The excursions to prison have a detrimental effect on her marriage and family.