In the segregated South of the early 1960s, Mary Swan Middleton tries to cope with her grief over a family tragedy by reaching out to Atlanta's poor and meets Carl, who is her opposite in every way but helps her to see beyond her privileged life.
After ballet dancer Sasha Davis suffers a career-ending injury and returns home to Minnesota to recover and deal with her mother's death, she forms an unexpected bond with her live-in aide, Evelyn, who helps Sasha face life with a renewed purpose.