A young boy at a fishing pond finds himself in a predicament when, as he witnesses two adults having sex, the tree branch he's sitting on gives way. The boy's telling of the story becomes a legend for his small town in Kentucky.

When a young boy in 1930s Kentucky turns seven years old, he suddenly finds the hefty weight of his age settling on his unassuming shoulders.

In a town so small it can hardly be called a town, a black woman serves a rich white family until a series of horrific events causes the single joy in her life to vanish.

A hungry vagabond in rural Georgia during the 1930s finds himself going to desperate lengths to find a safe place to rest and a meal to eat after unlucky encounters with the law and locals in the towns he travels to.

Willie Proudfit sits on his front porch one night and reminisces on his time living a wild and rowdy life out West on the plains, side by side with Native people. After a near-death experience, he comes to recognize the importance of settling down in a place you can call home, with the people you love.

In a small rural town in the 1930s, three friends — a farmer’s wife, a music teacher and adulteress, and a single huntswoman — drift away from one another as they grow older, choosing unexpected futures for themselves.

On the 4th of July, a small Texas diner receives new customers from all over the nation. One family arrives to the small town in search for an old war buddy, Bill, who offered the husband a job, but the townspeople insist that Bill's work is not accepting any new workers.

In 1920s Kentucky, the death of his wife leaves a farmer sorrowful and overwhelmed by his two young boys, leaving it up to his brother and parents to step in.

When the Great Depression hits a well-to-do family, an eighteen-year-old girl works at a ranch to put herself through college, enduring the difficulty of the work while also enjoying being away from the stifling environment of her home.

In an East Ohio town, a middle-aged man checks into a hotel and explores the various characters, events and surroundings that define small town life.