Aaron Cash and his sister Shelley live on a dairy farm in Tennessee. Their neighbor Morgan Blackburn raises beef cattle and runs an illegal still which he does not want discovered. He shoots at Aaron and his father Nate to keep them away when they accidentally come upon the still. Morgan attempts to buy Nate off, but Nate refuses. When Morgan resorts to increasingly threatening acts—vandalism, arson—Aaron and Shelley find themselves caught in the struggle between their father and Morgan, leading to a final confrontation in which Aaron must make the most difficult decision of his life.