The year is 1915 and a car going by is unique. The setting is a town in northeastern Indiana with brick streets and a town square featuring a two story limestone courthouse. The inhabitants, like anywhere else, have aspirations that shape their lives. Young Hank Braddock, among other things, dreams of becoming a full-fledged reporter. His girlfriend Becky dreams of climbing the town's social ladder. She sees Hank, as does the rest of the town, as an up-and-comer. Mr. Smith, Hank's boss at the town's newspaper, dreams of taking a long vacation out West. And Mr. Conner, owner of the cannery outside of town, dreams of creating and maintaining a large power base. A flood, a train derailment and eventually a strike effect the course of everyone's dreams, sending them along new pathways. No one will ever be the same again...