Mending Fences

The film opens with Kelly Farraday, a successful investigative reporter in Los Angeles, breaking a major story on counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Despite her success, her ex-husband and boss, Robert, passes her over for a lead anchor position in favor of a younger pageant queen. Kelly quits in protest. Shortly after, an old flame named Walt arrives from her hometown of Prosper, Nevada, to secretly inform her that her mother, Ruth, is suffering from degenerative blindness and the family ranch is failing due to a severe drought. Kelly takes her rebellious, goth-styled 14-year-old daughter, Kamilla, back to the ranch, where she finds Ruth as stubborn as ever and the town on the brink of selling out to a casino developer named Jack Norris. While Kamilla begins to shed her city attitude and bonds with a local boy named Chuck and her grandmother, Kelly becomes suspicious of the water crisis. She reconnects with her mentor, Hank, who runs the local paper, and begins investigating the 'water rustlers.' Kelly and Kamilla discover a hidden tunnel and pumping system on township land, leading Kelly to suspect that the water is being diverted to benefit the casino project. The tension escalates when Ruth's eyesight fails during a ride, leading to a dangerous accident where Kamilla is nearly killed. As Kelly digs deeper, she discovers that Mayor Sam is in league with Jack Norris and that they are slant-drilling into the town's aquifer to sell the water to a neighboring town. In a high-stakes climax, Kelly and Walt are nearly drowned when they are trapped in a secret water tank that begins to fill. They escape just in time for Kelly to crash the final town council meeting. In a dramatic confrontation, Ruth fires a warning shot with a vintage pistol to silence the room, allowing Kelly to present photographic evidence of the theft and expose the Mayor's corruption. The casino deal is unanimously voted down, the water is restored, and Kelly decides to turn down a renewed job offer in LA to stay on the ranch and mend her family's fences.