Tom and Mae Garvey (Mel Gibson, Sissy Spacek) are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer (Scott Glenn) and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children (Shane Bailey, Becky Jo Lynch) and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.