Before going off to World War II, Frank Arnold (Richard Crenna) relocates his wife, Ann (Claire Bloom), and son, Joshua (Richard Thomas), to New Mexico. Joshua has a difficult time fitting in, finding himself a minority in a predominantly Latino community, and his mother doesn't fare much better, treating her loneliness with increasing quantities of alcohol. At length, Joshua makes some friends and begins to adjust, but bad news from overseas threatens to spoil what he's accomplished.