A Place Called Home

The film opens with Tula Jeeters receiving a dire warning from her friend and physician, Dr. Douglas Hamilton, that she is going blind and must see a specialist in Boulder. Tula, stubborn and grieving her late husband 'The Captain,' is reluctant to leave her home. Her niece and nephew-in-law, Billie and Dave Jeeters, are eager to move her into assisted living so they can develop her land into a golf course and mall. They bring along Jan Kyles, a county social worker, to evaluate Tula's competency. Meanwhile, Henry 'Hank' Ford and his daughter Cali are traveling through Colorado when their car breaks down near Tula's estate. Cali uses her wits to get Tula to let them stay, and Tula, seeing an opportunity to prove she can manage the property, hires Hank to perform repairs and restore 'The Captain's' old boat. Hank, a pool shark and mechanic, begins a flirtatious relationship with Jan, while Cali bonds with Tula over their shared habit of 'talking to dead people'—Cali to her late grandmother and Tula to her husband. The conflict escalates as Billie and Dave realize Hank is helping Tula maintain her independence. They use the local Sheriff to run a background check on Hank, discovering his history as a drifter, and attempt to blackmail Jan by threatening her job if she doesn't file a negative report on Tula. The Sheriff eventually corners Hank and delivers a brutal beating to intimidate him into leaving town. Fearing for Cali's stability, Hank nearly flees at dawn, but his conscience and Cali's desire for a real home bring him back. In the climax, Hank returns just as Billie and Dave are confronting Tula. He stands his ground, Jan refuses to be blackmailed, and Tula reveals she is finally going to have the eye surgery she needs. The film concludes with Tula's successful surgery, the announcement that she and Doc are turning the estate into a Bed and Breakfast, and the promise that Hank and Cali have finally found a permanent place to call home.