Set in the small town of Laramie, New Mexico, the sexy waitress and struggling single mother, Nora (Brooke Adams), is doing her best to keep her two teenage daughters, Trudi (Ione Skye) and Shade (Fairuza Balk), from making the same mistakes she made-- specifically, loser men, early pregnancies and dead-end jobs. But Nora's frustration at her inability to cope with the burden of raising fatherless daughters is getting the best of her. Shade somehow maintains optimism in the arid landscape while pursuing the daunting task of finding a man for her mother and locating her long absent father. Through a series of both planned and chance meetings, Shade, Trudi and Nora all find men and Shade is led into the magical world of first love.