Young mother Madylyn Mabry puts her daughter to bed while her husband Jack watches golf on television. After the child is asleep, she goes downstairs and announces she's leaving him. He runs upstairs to the bedroom and holds their daughter out the window, threatening to drop her if Madylyn leaves.
Years later, Jack and Madylyn Mabry return home from church for a quiet afternoon. He watches TV and drinks in an identical pose. Late that night a call wakes them. Jack picks up the phone and hears a woman's voice. Jack reports to work at a prison, where he is a parole officer. He is called into the warden's office. His upcoming retirement is brought up. Jack requests that he keep all of his inmates until he leaves, in order to see them through until review.
Jack has a new case in his office, named Gerald Creeson. The inmate insists that he likes to be called Stone. Stone asks Jack if he can help him get out early. They attempt to talk about each other's wives. Jack explains that he does not want to discuss his wife, and that they are there to talk about his case. Stone later phones his wife, Lucetta, from prison.
Stone and Jack hold several more meetings. Stone tells him he deserves to be free. That night Lucetta leaves a message on Jack and Madylyn's answering machine. She shows up at the prison the next day to meet Jack. Lucetta phones Jack again and they meet for lunch. They end up at Lucetta's home. After a few drinks, he sleeps with Lucetta. At prison, two guards arrive to escort Stone to the infirmary. While waiting for someone to see him, he witnesses another inmate being brutally murdered.
Jack soon goes to see Lucetta several more times for sex. Jack tells her no-one can know about their relationship. One day, he tells Stone that he sent the report recommending early release. The next morning, Jack asks the warden for Stone's report. The warden informs him Stone's parole hearing is in an hour and no changes can be made. Jack does not stay for the hearing.
Stone is informed that he will be released. Stone tells Jack that he knows about the relationship between him and Lucetta. That night, Jack goes home with paranoia and is awoken by a fire in his home. Later, Madylyn, her daughter and her granddaughter look through photo albums. Jack is now retired trying to determine his future.
