Antonio Banderas' directorial debut opens in the sweltering summer of 1965, and everyone in Alabama has gone completely crazy, especially 12-year-old Peejoe's glamorous Aunt Lucille (Melanie Griffith). Deciding not to let her abusive husband stand in the way of her dreams of television stardom, she gets rid of him in a most unusual way and leaves Peejoe (Lucas Black) with lots of questions and one explosive secret. Accompanied only with her hatbox and its mysterious contents, Lucille tries to evade both the cops and her demons on her hilarious journey to Hollywood, while Peejoe is left behind with his uncle (David Morse) in Alabama. And as he tries to steer clear of the cunning Sheriff John Doggett (Meat Loaf Aday), Peejoe learns which secrets to keep and which ones to tell in this poignant comedy about the price of freedom and why it's always worth it, whatever the cost.