Mary Jo Walker was married for the first time at age 17, and has since gone through three more husbands and numerous boyfriends. Everytime a relationship fails, the free-spirited Mary Jo takes to the road with her foul-mouthed, 12-year-old daughter, Ava, in search of a new home, new love and a new life. Leaving yet another abusive relationship behind her, Mary Jo finally heads for the picture-perfect suburbs of Starlight Beach, near San Diego. Mary Jo lands a position at job security company, and Ava enrolls in school where she makes friends easily. Ava hopes that she and her mother can actually live by themselves, without the destructive presence of another ill-chosen boyfriend. Mary Jo, however, soon hooks-up with a brawny truck driver, Jack Ranson, who they met on the road to California, When Mary Jo and Jack's ill-fated relationship begins to deteriorate, she is tempted to hit the road again--much to the chagrin of her daughter who, for once in her life, begins to feel rooted.