A show arrives in a small town, promising the performance of a lifetime, in which a small, mute woman will dive into a shallow pool surrounded by flames from a diving board that reaches the sky.

A four-year-old Southern boy can read novels but has never spoken a word in his life. When he goes to his family's Fourth of July picnic, he must decide whether it is the appropriate moment to speak—or if there ever will be one.

Amidst the Wyoming dust bowl and Great Depression, the son of an overprotective mother leaves to explore the world. However, when he returns injured and scarred, rumors spread that end in tragedy for the boy.