Slim (JENNIFER LOPEZ) seems to have the perfect life. After working at a diner with her friend Ginny (JULIETTE LEWIS), she's now married to Mitch Hiller (BILLY CAMPBELL) -- a successful and charming businessman who's so tenacious and wealthy that he can seemingly get whatever he wants -- and they have a cute, little daughter, Gracie (TESSA ALLEN).
Yet, things aren't as perfect as they seem. After several years, Slim not only learns that her husband has been having an affair, but that he's also an abusive and controlling wife beater who informs her that since he makes the money, he gets to set the ground rules.
Ginny tells Slim to run away, and after a while, she, Phil (CHRISTOPHER MAHER) and another man help her escape after another beating. Unbeknownst to her, however, Mitch immediately cancels her credit cards, freezes her accounts and quickly discerns where she's hiding. Stating that he can't live without her, Mitch comes after Slim and she and Gracie barely manage to escape.
Heading to Seattle, they meet up with her old friend Joe (DAN FUTTERMAN), but Mitch soon has some menacing thugs hot on her trail. Jupiter (FRED WARD), her successful but emotionally distant father, is of no help to her in San Francisco, so she and Gracie head to Michigan where they try to reinvent themselves so as to throw off Mitch's hounds.
One of them is Robbie (NOAH WYLE), a cop who Mitch manipulates into tracking her down once again. After meeting with a lawyer, Jim Toller (BILL COBBS), about her options, Slim decides to take matters into her own hands by training with a self-defense instructor (BRUCE A. YOUNG) who teaches her how to protect herself and handle Mitch should she encounter him again.
With Mitch then pressing for legal custody of Gracie, Slim is determined to set matters straight and handle her problem once and for all.