After graduating from college, debutante April Delongpre and her fiancé, Chad Douglas Fairchild, arrive at her family’s home in Alabama. After April is welcomed back by her parents, Senator and Mrs. Delongpre, and her younger sisters, Samantha and Jody, she settles in and plans her wedding. While April takes her sisters to a traveling carnival, Perry, a ride operator and drifter, flirts with her, but she ignores him. Before leaving, Perry hands April her misplaced wallet. Later, unable to sleep and thinking about Perry, April returns to the carnival and finds him playing fetch with his dog, Tom. Perry flirts with her again, but April rejects his advances. In the morning, April’s family leaves for a weekend trip. Alone in the house, she hears the shower in the bathroom and finds Perry. April orders him to leave, but he insists that her visit the night before was an invitation to come over. As he approaches, April gives in and makes love with him. Later, April listens a to a telephone message from Chad, and regrets cheating on him. Visiting her grandmother, Belle, April tells her that she feels unsure about who she is. However, Belle insists Chad is the most appropriate choice for her and her family. After April leaves, Belle telephones her old friend Sheriff Earl Hawkins, and asks him keep an eye on her granddaughter. Driving to the fairgrounds, April finds Perry drunk with a woman named Patti Jean. Although angry that Perry is with another woman, he persuades her to go with Patti Jean to purchase more alcohol. Patti Jean tells April that Perry has been constantly talking about her. Meanwhile, a carnival ride malfunctions. Unable to stop it, Perry destroys the power generator for the entire carnival. During the blackout, carnival vendors and workers attack Perry. As Patti Jean and April return, they go to help. When Perry’s dog, Tom, bites one his attackers, the animal is killed by a switchblade knife. When the brawl is over, Perry is fired and ordered to leave the carnival. Picking up Tom’s body, he leaves with April and Patti Jean. After burying Tom in a field, they go to a bar. Later, Perry and April check into a motel and make love throughout the night. In the morning, April goes to retrieve her car from the fairground, and finds the carnival gone. As she drives away, Sheriff Earl Hawkins follows her. Returning to the motel, April catches Perry flirting with the housekeepers, and they get into a screaming match. April forgives Perry, and offers to buy him breakfast. As they eat, April talks about her favorite place, a lake pavilion owned by her grandmother called Two Moon Junction. After April leaves, Sheriff Hawkins approaches Perry and handcuffs him. Driving to the field where Perry buried Tom, Sheriff Hawkins says it is private property and he needs to remove the dead dog. Perry is heartbroken, but Sheriff Hawkins allows him to cremate Tom, then drives Perry to the Alabama-Mississippi border, and orders him not to return. The day before her wedding, April is surprised to see Perry setting up tents for the reception in her parents’s backyard. Belle arrives, and recognizes Perry from Sheriff Hawkins’s description. In the evening, April finds a message from Perry written in lipstick on her bedroom mirror: “Two Moon Junction Midnight.” When April arrives, she offers Perry $5,000 to leave town, but he refuses her money. Angry, April tells Perry she is no longer attracted to him. However, Perry leads her to a pavilion and introduces her to his new puppy, Max. April reminisces about the wild times she and her cousins spent at Two Moon Junction, and her attraction to Perry overtakes her. Afterward, April cries over again cheating on Chad. The following day, Perry prepares to leave. As he starts his truck, a Sheriff’s deputy arrives. Aiming his rifle, he fires at Perry, but misses. Perry knocks the deputy unconscious, and leaves town with his puppy. Meanwhile at the church, April hesitates before walking down the aisle. Sheriff Hawkins informs Belle that Perry is gone. Lying to April, Belle says she offered Perry a bribe and he took the money. Although April knows that Perry would not accept money from Belle, she decides to marry Chad for the sake of her family. Elsewhere, Perry takes a job as a dishwasher in a new town. Returning to his motel room, he hears someone in the shower and finds April. With her wedding ring on, April and Perry continue their affair.