The town of Heartwood, Montana, is burning out of control. Stoked by the very real flames from nearby wildfires, long-standing, smoldering disputes over forestry policies have been reignited, pitting out-of-work local residents against environmentalists and state wildlife managers. At the center of the heated dispute is high school sophomore Luther Wright, who questions many of the community's basic precepts, and in doing so faces alenation not only from his friends, but also from from his own family.