An ex-con returns to his Florida hometown after three years and becomes involved with the wife of his best friend, the local sheriff.

Mattie, a widow living in the backwoods of Florida during Prohibition, meets Trax, a charming man much younger that herself. Trax is a womanizing, lying bootlegger who needs money and he sets his sights on Mattie who can support him. After energetically courting her, Mattie marries Trax, who before long brings home a young woman to be their housekeeper, but it is obvious that she is to be his mistress. When Trax leaves on business, the two women each contemplate how they are being exploited and Mattie comes up with a plan of her own.

It is based on the true story of Michael Francke, who was the Head of Corrections for the state of Oregon before being murdered. Just before his murder, Francke visits his brother and informs him of a drug ring involving his prison colleagues. When Michael is killed, his brother begins his own investigation into the murder, leading him to more lies and deceit.

A reporter at a local Florida newspaper is torn between his friendship with a corrupt real estate developer and his love for an activist opposing the developer's latest project.