
After her husband is killed in a trucking accident, Alice packs up the car and her son, Tommy, and heads to Hollywood, dreaming of a singing career. Her car breaks down in Phoenix, forcing her to take a job at Mel's Diner, a greasy spoon where gruff owner Mel barks orders to Alice and her fellow waitresses.

Alice must scrimp to come up with money for Tommy's braces and Mel needs a new refrigerator. Flo finds a paper bag with $40,000 cash in it, and it seems everyone's money woes are over.

Alice is given the chance to star in a television commercial for Mel's diner.

Alice encounters a flasher and Flo faces a handsome ex-husband who wants another divorce.

An elderly American Indian claims that the diner is built on his tribal burial grounds and announces that he has come there to die.