Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) is a bored housewife who has accepted her lot in life as a simple farmer's wife. Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood) is a photographer for National Geographic’s sent to Madison County to take pictures of the many covered bridges that Iowa has to offer. But on his way to one such bridge, he gets turned around on the dirt roads and ends up at the Johnson’s front door. Francesca’s family is away at the state fair, and she has stayed behind to take care of the farm. When this handsome photographer shows up, a spark is ignited between the two. All that she has been missing in life would be made possible with this man. However family obligations hold her back. Will she surrender to this love of a lifetime or go back to her ordinary life?