The story focuses on the Magrath sisters - Meg (Jessica Lange), Babe (Sissy Spacek), and Lenny (Diane Keaton) - who reunite at the family home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The three were raised by Old Granddaddy after their mother hanged herself and the family cat and have been eccentric ever since. Lenny is a wallflower who bemoans her shriveled ovary. Egocentric Meg is a singer whose Hollywood career ended abruptly when she suffered a nervous breakdown. Unruly and impulsive Babe shocks her sisters with stories about her affair with a teenaged black boy. Past resentments bubble to the surface as the women are forced to deal with assorted relatives and previous relationships while coping with the latest incident that has disrupted their lives.