Lou Jean Poplin, just released from prison, helps her husband Clovis escape from custody to pick up their son from the orphanage where he has been placed by authorities who have revoked Lou and Clovis’ parental rights as petty criminals. On their way to the town of Sugarland, Texas, where the orphanage is located, they are stopped by a traffic cop for a routine check, but Lou panics, points a shotgun at the cop and takes him hostage. The criminals begin to be pursued by the police and the case becomes the center of media attention.