Walker Payne is a dramatic love story set in the strip mining country of Southern Illinois in 1957. Walker (Jason Patric) is a small town seducer who finds himself out of work when the mines shut down. The only hope and love in his life are his two beautiful daughters. Walker's ex-wife (Drea De Matteo), desperate to leave town and escape her miserable life, makes Walker an offer: the girls in exchange for cash.

Out of work, on parole, and trapped in a dying town, there is little hope of Walker getting his daughters until Syrus (Sam Shepard), a slick hustler, rolls into town and offers Walker an opportunity to make a lot of money. Walker's life becomes even more complicated when he meets and falls in love Audrey (Kadee Strickland), a woman trying to escape her past. Syrus seduces Walker into a world of violence, forcing him to make heart-breaking decisions.