Cane, Cob and Chimney Jewett are young Georgia sharecroppers held under the thumb of their God-fearing father, Pearl. When he dies unexpectedly, they set out on horseback for Canada, robbing and looting their way to wealth and infamy.

But little goes to plan and soon they're pursued by both the authorities and the stories emanating from their trail of destruction - making the Jewett Gang out to be the most fearsome trio of murdering bank robbers in the Midwest. The truth, though, is far more complex than the legend. And the heaven they've imagined may in fact be worse than the hell they sought to escape.