After being arrested for attempted armed robbery, Kathy is sentenced to prison, only to discover that her erratic actions were motivated by her bipolar disorder. Once diagnosed and treated with a mental healthcare program, her sentence is commuted and she is released back into the community. She returns to her hometown in rural Iowa to put her life back in order and reconcile with her estranged 12-year-old daughter, but her plan to stay with her grandfather is thwarted when she discovers he has suffered a heart attack and is being kept at a nursing home by her parents. Conflict with her family intensifies when her teenage daughter’s reaction to seeing her echoes the feelings shared by the whole family: they were happier when Kathy was out of their lives. As she struggles to keep her head above water, complications with her daughter and her grandfather test her sense of self-worth to the limit. Through self-acceptance and perseverance, she forges new levels of heroism and love.