Two brothers find an abandoned plane wreck in the middle of a land preserve. Inside the plane, they discover 4.4 million dollars. Hank Mitchell (Bill Paxton) is the responsible, sensible brother. He wants to notify authorities. But his unemployed brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) begins to fantasize about what they could do with all the money. He finally convinces Hank that if they take the money and wait until the plane is found and the money is not missed, they could keep it. They promise to tell no one. Hank naturally tells his wife Sarah (Bridget Fonda) who devises a plan to hide the money and spend it with discrimination so no one suspects anything unusual. Their simple plan is to fix up the family farm that is in debt and headed toward ruin and maybe save the rest for their children's college. But, of course Jacob has different plans for the money, resents that his brother has told his wife and she has taken charge. He thinks it is only right that he gets to tell one person. He tells his friend Lou Chambers (Brent Briscoe) who is even more irresponsible than Jacob. When authorities start investigating, their simple plan begins to unravel.