Auto dealer Lonnie Earl (Billy Bob Thornton) and his wife, Darlene (Natasha Richardson), are best friends with Roy (Patrick Swayze) and his wife, Candy (Charlize Theron), who's ovulating and trying to become pregnant. When the four friends from Arkansas decide to take an SUV cross-country to a monster truck show in Reno, NV, it turn out that Lonnie Earl and Candy have been having an affair. The revelation comes as a shock to Roy and Darlene, who absconds with her husband's credit cards for a spending spree that includes designer boutiques and a Tony Orlando concert. Meanwhile, Candy's quest to have a baby takes on a new dimension in light of her extracurricular activities with Lonnie Earl