Alabama in the 1920s. Roscoe T Martin is finding it hard to adjust to his new life running his wife's family farm when he hits upon an idea : to build his own power lines and siphon electricity from the state. Suddenly the world feels alive with possibility - even the love of his wife Marie and their child seems back in his grasp. Then everything changes. A young man is electrocuted and killed on Roscoe's lines and Roscoe is arrested...