In the back room of the dilapidated Blue Water Grill in Blue Water, Texas, proprietor Floyd spends the morning watching old home movies of his wife, Dorothy. He recalls her vivacious personality, and how customers flocked to their Gulf Coast bar just to be entertained by her. Floyd’s friend, Charlie O’Donnell, stops by, notes Floyd’s despondent mood, and laments Dorothy’s mysterious disappearance a year ago. He suggests selling the Blue Water, but Floyd rejects the idea. Dorothy’s father-in-law, whom everyone calls “the General,” maneuvers his wheelchair up the hall, eavesdropping on the conversation. Having suffered a stroke, he blurts out a nonsensical question. Floyd sighs and wonders what is delaying the old man’s caretaker. Just then, Jimmy runs into the Blue Water, flush with excitement after flirting with Annie Gorman, the town’s most desirable single woman. Floyd presses a sack lunch into the young man’s hand and instructs him to take the General to the beach. Later, the unscrupulous Charlie O’Donnell meets with county commissioner Jack Hill. The two scheme to acquire Floyd’s bar, well aware that with the construction of a new bridge nearby, property values will soon increase dramatically. Meanwhile, on the beach, Jimmy amuses the General with his childlike antics. They observe the mental institution in the distance, and Jimmy declares he will never return there. Back at the Blue Water, Floyd receives a call from Jack Hill, who demands $5,200 in unpaid taxes. Floyd protests the Monday deadline, given that it is already Friday afternoon. That night, Floyd’s no-nonsense house manager, Louise, looks over the business accounts and insists she could restore the bar to its former glory. Floyd remains depressed. Louise offers to give him her entire savings of $6,300 and form a partnership with him. Floyd misinterprets her gesture as a flirtation, and reminds her that his heart belongs to Dorothy. However, he kisses her passionately. In the morning, the General remarks on the commotion caused by Floyd and Louise’s lovemaking, but Floyd denies the tryst. Jimmy arrives and asks for modest payment for all the hours he spent caring for the General. When he reveals his dream to buy a car and impress Annie Gorman, Floyd proposes that Jimmy help him with a more lucrative “task.” As Floyd describes setting fire to the bar so that they can collect $75,000 in insurance money, Jimmy’s interest turns to anger. Certain that he would be found out and institutionalized again, he grabs the General’s wheelchair, wheels the old man out of the Blue Water, and demands that Floyd pay him $200 ransom. Floyd cannot help but laugh at the outburst, and tells Jimmy to have the General home by dinner. He goes back inside, telephones Charlie O’Donnell, and indicates he is willing to sell the bar. A few hours later, the local sheriff, “Baytch,” calls Floyd to the morgue and asks him to identify the remains of a woman found in a local lake. Floyd reluctantly admits the body is Dorothy’s. Louise hears the news and rushes to the Blue Water to comfort Floyd, but he mocks her kindness. They argue, and she storms out. At the beach, Jimmy’s horseplay causes the General to fall from his wheelchair to the rocks beneath the pier. Distraught, Jimmy leaves the unconscious man on the shore and goes to find Floyd. Over at the Blue Water bowling alley, Louise learns that the bridge construction project has been officially approved. She realizes that the Blue Water Grill will be perfectly positioned along a busy route of travel, and rushes to stop Floyd from selling the establishment. She arrives at the bar to find a deranged Jimmy holding Floyd at gunpoint. The young man confesses the General’s accident, but insists it was not his fault. Hoping to flee town, he demands Louise’s truck. Sheriff Baytch appears and Jimmy pulls Louise into the back room. Although he is relieved to overhear that the General, aside from a few bruises, is alright, Jimmy worries that the sheriff will arrest him for negligence. He keeps Louise hidden until Baytch leaves, and attempts to flee. Floyd tells Jimmy not to be foolish, and puts him to work cleaning the bar. However, Jimmy steals Louise’s truck and drives away. Floyd laughs and tells Louise not to worry. He knows exactly where Jimmy plans to go. Floyd and Louise talk about recent events and agree to be business partners. Charlie O’Donnell arrives, intent on buying the bar, and Floyd makes a show of dismissing the crook from the premises, much to Louise’s delight. Later, Floyd goes down to the pier and tosses his movies of Dorothy into the sea. That night, Jimmy returns to the bar and falls to his knees in front of the General. The old man smiles and pats Jimmy’s head. Sometime later, at the renovated Blue Water Grill, Louise and Floyd dance amidst a crowd of happy couples.