Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.

While attending a retrospect of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.

A prospector is looking for a lost gold mine and finds aid in his search through the efforts of his friend, Stormcloud, whom he has aided in the past. Stormcloud gives the prospector's son a map leading to the mine in repayment for his past kindness. When a claim jumper learns about the map, he targets the prospector and his son in order to get the treasure.

Respected liberal Senator Joe Tynan is asked to to lead the opposition to a Supreme Court appointment. It means losing an old friend and fudging principles to make the necessary deals, as well as further straining his already part-time family life. But it could be a big boost to his career, so he takes it on. Helping him prepare the case is pretty southern researcher Karen Traynor, and their developing relationship further complicates and compromises his life.

When the prominent citizens of a small town discover that the officers of the local bank have been embezzling money from it, they decide to rob the bank themselves.

A young couple in New York are having problems with their relationship.