Two teachers vie for the right to stage a play written by Jane Austen when she was twelve years old.

Just out of prison Joe Harris looks to restart his life. His wife Barbie has moved and the one man who can tell him where refuses to do so. Enraged, Joe beats the old man senseless and runs away to his father's home, where he also finds his wife. A police detective comes around about the beating (which will soon to become a murder) and Joe insists he's innocent. Joe tells his wife and father he's a changed man and he's only a suspect because of his prior conviction. Barbie and Fred struggle with their desire to believe Joe's plea versus their fear he'll never change.

Dramatizes the effect of a home when furnishings are simplified, showing modern design at its best when the young couple tour the Johnson Wax buildings designed by the world-famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.