"Virginia" (Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly), is a charming, vibrant, and well...completely psychologically disturbed mother of Emmett (Harrison Gilbertson), the sweetest illegitimate 16-year-old boy a mom could ask for. She has been entangled in a secret 20-year love affair with Richard Tipton (4-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris), a highly visible, local Mormon Sheriff running for a seat on the state senate. Both Virginia and Tipton have their own pasts to protect... a situation that quickly escalates when Emmett becomes focused on a romantic relationship with Tipton's daughter, Jessie (Emma Roberts). The film also stars academy award nominee Amy Madigan as Tipton's wife, Roseanna, and Toby Jones as Max.