Melody (Hershey) returns home to Fairlands for the funeral of her estranged daughter June. But the town has almost disappeared under the encroaching desert. She also has to confront the fact that she has a 10 year-old grandson, River, whose existence she knew nothing about prior. Melody decides to take River away with her but he is resistant. He has worked out an ambitious plan to survive, by breeding the ostriches he and his mother used to feed. His father, Scoop, an idle musician and the town's postman, wants her to leave because he has a secret to hide. A series of confrontations ensues until Melody discovers the truth. It's only when a sandstorm forces Melody and River to take shelter together, that Melody faces some painful facts from her past, which allows both of them to reach an understanding and to begin a new future together.
