Selma is a Czech immigrant, a single mother working in 1960s rural America. Her salvation lies in her imagination and her passion for music, specifically, the all-singing, all-dancing numbers found in classic Hollywood musicals. She is continually distracted by the rhythm of the presses and the clattering of the steel sinks and begins to imagine that she and her co-workers are in a musical. Selma harbors a sad secret: she is quickly losing her eyesight and her beloved son Gene stands to suffer the same fate if she can't put away enough money to secure him an operation. When a desperate neighbor falsely accuses Selma of stealing his savings, the drama of her life escalates to tragedy.