A disheveled man who wanders out of the desert, Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) seems to have no idea who he is. When a stranger manages to contact his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), Travis is awkwardly reunited with his sibling. Travis has been missing for years, and his presence unsettles Walt and his family, which also includes Travis's own son, Hunter (Hunter Carson). Soon Travis must confront his wife, Jane (Nastassja Kinski), and try to put his life back together.

Writer/director Robert Altman claimed this impressionistic film came to him in a dream. Millie Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall) considers herself irresistible to men, though in fact men have little trouble resisting her. Mysterious teenager Pinky Rose (Sissy Spacek), Millie's fellow physical therapist at a desert spa who becomes her roommate at a singles-only apartment building, at first appears worshipful of Millie's self-confidence but soon seems to be taking over aspects of her personality.