Reckless desire wreaks havoc over Memorial Day weekend as a family confronts the volatile and fragile nature of love. A modern retellin g of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, set in rural New England.　　Meryl Streep has played the role of Irina on Broadway but Cherry Jones was cast for this movie. Interestingly, Jones originated the role of Sister Aloysious in Doubt on Broadway, but Streep was chosen to play her on screen.

In 1909, amidst the dying old west, Willie Boy, a long distance Desert Runner by Chemehuevi tradition, falls in love with young native beauty, Carlota. Carlota's father, a Chemehuevi shaman and local tribal leader, refuses to let the young couple be together. In a fatal confrontation, Carlota's father falls dead to an accidental gun shot and the young lovers flee to the sun enslaved Mohave desert. The local sheriff leads a mounted posse armed with fire power and two Native American trackers seeking justice for their murdered tribal leader. Willie Boy and Carlota evade capture outlasting the men and their horses. However, fake news stories meant to sell papers adds to the mounting pressure to capture Willie Boy. In a desert that purifies all, the search for Willie Boy forces everyone to face their own demons in this tragic tale of love, death, and desert heat.