In Depression-era Albany, NY, washed-up baseball star Francis Phelan (Jack Nicholson) has become an alcoholic vagabond after a tragic accident led him to desert his family. Since that time, Phelan has been a shabby barfly, living from drink to drink. By chance, he encounters Helen Archer (Meryl Streep) and together, they wax nostalgic about their haunted pasts.