The story follows the two sisters Melissa and Emily, the former who accidentally killed her husband Alan and the latter who agrees to help her bury her husband in the desert. While there, they encounter a trucker who hates his dogs and takes a special dislike to the sisters, a Park Ranger who takes a shine to Melissa and finally a strange, homeless man who thinks he is in a soap opera. While Melissa and Emily try their best to find a suitable place to bury Alan, much of their history is revealed and the day in the desert has a great impact on their lives.

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.