Kansas, 1910. Jacob Witting (Oscar winner Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter), a widowed farmer who lost his wife during child birth, is overburdened by the task of running his farm and raising his two children by himself. In drastic need of domestic help he advertises in the newspaper for a mail-order bride. New England respondent Sarah Wheaton (Oscar nominee Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons), who describes herself as "plain and tall", is keen to make the journey from her seaside dwelling in Maine and take up farm life in Kansas to become Jacobs wife. But as she takes up a 30 day trial period with the loving family, homesickness and the rugged Kansas countryside place a considerable strain on her expectations and outlook. Adapted from Patricia MacLachlans much-loved book, Sarah, Plain and Tall is a sumptuous rural drama about isolation, romance and the foundations of family life.